HEREDITY  AND 
CHILD  CULTURE 


HENRY  DWIGHT  CHAPIN 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

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HEREDITY  AND  CHILD  CULTURE 


Composite  Figure  Showing  Completely  Developed 

Youth. 


Heredity  and  Child  Culture 


BY 

HENRY  DWIGHT  CHAPIN,  M.D. 

President  of  the  Children's  Welfare  Federation   of  New  York; 
Medical  Director  of  the  Speedwell  Society ;   Emeritus  Pro- 
fessor of  Medicine  (Diseases  of  Children)  at  the  New  York 
Post-Graduate  Medical  School  and  Hospital;  Ex- 
President  of  the  American  Pediatric  Society. 


With  a  Foreword  bt 
PROFESSOR  HENRY  FAIRFIELD  OSBORN 


NEW  YORK 
E.  P.  BUTTON  &  COMPANY 

681  Fifth  Avenue 


Copyright,   1922, 
BY  E.  P.  DUTTON  &  COMPANY 


All  rights  reserved 


PBIXTED    IN    THB    XTSXTBO    STATIS    OT   AUEBIOA 


153 


TO 

MY  FRIEND  AND  CLASS-MATE 

HENRY  FAIRFIELD  OSBORN 


Preface 

In  a  study  of  the  developmental  period,  one 
must  start  with  a  background  relating  to  in- 
fluences that  precede  the  beginning  of  inde- 
pendent life  and  which  tend  to  give  it  a  good 
or  bad  start.  With  this  in  mind,  I  have  briefly 
sketched  the  views  of  some  leading  biologists 
on  the  subject  of  heredity,  and  have  freely 
drawn  upon  various  authorities  who  have  writ- 
ten on  the  subjects  discussed.  Their  names, 
with  references,  are  mentioned  in  the  text,  and 
I  herewith  express  my  obligation  to  them. 

As  to  the  factors  that  control  life  after  it  has 
begun,  those  occurring  in  the  early  years  are 
the  ones  that  specially  count.  Hence  this 
period  of  life  must  be  particularly  stressed  in 
a  study  of  the  possibilities  of  development.  It 
is  also  well  to  know  what  to  expect  when  con- 
ditions 'are  favorable  and  how  to  recognize 
disastrous  influences  in  time  for  correction. 

ii 


viii  Preface 

This  involves  a  study  of  the  various  problems 
of  children  as  individuals  as  well  as  in  their 
social  relationships. 

Good  development  is  the  resultant  of  many 
forces,  among  which  may  be  noted  heredity, 
prenatal  care  of  the  expectant  mother,  proper 
oversight  of  infants  and  growing  children, 
food,  clothing,  housing,  education,  hours  and 
conditions  of  study,  recreation,  expert  medical 
attendance  during  illness,  and  the  general  hab- 
its of  the  individual. 

In  the  frontispiece  is  shown  a  statue  repre- 
senting the  physical  perfection  of  form  in 
youth.  The  sculptor  is  Professor  E.  Tait 
McKensie  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  the  figure  stands  in  the  American  Museum 
of  Natural  History.  In  proportions  it  repre- 
sents an  average  of  the  fifty  strongest  men  at 
Harvard  as  measured  by  Dr.  Dudley  A.  Sar- 
gent. I  am  indebted  to  Professor  McKensie 
for  photographing  the  figure  for  me  and  per- 
mitting its  use  in  this  book. 

Heney  Dwight  Chapin. 
June,  1922 


CONTENTS 

4JHAFTKB  FAOB 

I.    Impoetance  of  the  Child  .......  1 

II.    Organio    Inheeitance 9 

III.    Social  Inheritance 21 

rV.    Selective  Breeding 35 

V.    The  Beginning  op  Life  . 48 

VI.    The  Developing  Period 58 

VII.    The  Pre-School  Age 74 

VIII.    The  School  Child 82 

IX.    Mental  Cultubb 106 

X.    Moral  Culture 121 

XI.    Nerve  Culture 132 

XII.    The  Importance  op  Proper  Nutrition  .     .  138 

XIII.    The  Family 157 

Xrv.    The  Dependent  Child 168 

XV.    The  Adoption  op  Children 194 

XVT.    The  Prolongation  op  Humian  Lipe  Through 

Child  Cui/ture 209 


Foreword 

It  is  very  important  that  all  parents,  all 
teachers,  and  all  physicians  should  understand 
the  interlocking  relations  of  heredity  and  en- 
vironment. So  much  reliance  is  placed  on  ed- 
ucation in  America  that  it  is  necessary  to 
stress  the  great  importance  of  being  born  with 
a  sound  and  healthy  constitution  and  with  good 
moral,  spiritual,  and  intellectual  predisposi- 
tions. 

Heredity  is,  in  fact,  altogether  a  matter  of 
predisposition  and  potentiality;  it  is  the  key 
which  fits  the  lock  t)f  environment,  including 
all  the  steps  in  nurture  and  in  education.  Con- 
sequently, eugenics,  which  has  to  do  with  be- 
ing born  well,  and  euthenics,  which  has  to  do 
with  being  nurtured  and  educated  well,  have 
been  inseparable  from  the  beginning  of  time. 

The  value  of  a  clear  understanding  of  these 
principles  to  the  parent,  teacher  and  physi- 
cian, begins  with  birth  and  extends  through 

zii 


xii  Foreword 

the  entire  life  education,  when  the  responsibil- 
ity of  the  world's  welfare  passes  on  to  another 
generation.  If  there  is  an  hereditary  predis- 
position,— a  passion  for  drink,  for  instance, — 
and  we  know  of  it,  we  can,  through  nurture  and 
environment,  take  away  the  opportunity  for  its 
development;  if  there  is  an  hereditary  predis- 
position to  certain  physical  defects,  such  as  tu- 
berculosis, we  can,  by  change  of  environment 
and  proper  nurture,  prevent  its  development. 

During  the  last  seventy-five  years  we  have 
made  marvellous  progress  in  euthenics,  and  I 
believe  we  are  on  the  threshold  of  similar  pro- 
gress in  eugenics.  The  two  fields  of  human- 
itarian endeavor  interlock  exactly  as  heredity 
interlocks  with  environment,  nature  with  nur- 
ture. 

The  writer  of  this  volume  is  one  of  the 
leaders  of  our  time  in  the  application  of  knowl- 
edge inspired  by  sentiment  and  real  sympathy 
and  understanding  of  the  ills  to  which  flesh  is 
heir.  In  this  work  we  find  clearly  set  forth 
this  most  important  of  all  humanitarian  move- 
ments, namely,  the  birth  and  care  of  children. 


Foreword  xiii 

The  nation  that  takes  the  best  care  of  the 
birth  of  its  children,  that  encourages  the  kinds 
of  birth  which  will  bring  into  the  world  the 
greatest  amount  of  happiness  and  the  least 
amount  of  suffering,  and  the  nation  that  brings 
to  the  care  of  children  after  birth  all  the  advan- 
tages of  education  in  its  broadest  sense,  is 
destined  to  survive  and  lead  the  world  in  the 
progress  of  the  future. 

Let  us  pray  that  this  may  be  our  American 
nation. 

Henby  Fairfield  Osbobn. 


HEREDITY  AND  CHILD  CULTURE 


"The  children  rrmst  he  practiced  well  to  this,  or 
they'll  ne'er  do't." 

**I  will  teach  the  children  their  behaviors.'^ 
— Shakespeahe,  The  Merry  Wives  of  "Windsor. 

"The    Youth   of   a   Nation   are   the    trustees   of. 
Posterity/'  —Disraeli,  Book  VI. 

"And  a  little  child  shall  lead  them." 

— Isaiah,  xi,  6. 


Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

CHAPTER  I 

IMPORTANCE   OP  THE   CHILD 

Two  controlling  factors  are  present  in  all 
life, — heredity  and  environment,  nature  and 
nurture,  as  expressed  by  Galton.  At  the  birth 
of  the  individual,  heredity  has  done  its  best 
or  its  worst,  and  can  be  reckoned  with  only  in 
the  sense  of  having  all  the  best  potentialities 
and  predispositions  cherished  and  developed, 
and  all  the  worst  avoided.  Its  activity  has 
extended  through  long  or  short  reaches  of  past 
time,  and  the  laws  of  its  operation  are  not  com- 
pletely understood.  The  question  of  environ- 
ment and  nurture  being  of  the  present,  and  to  a 
certain  extent  possible  of  control,  now  assumes 
the  greatest  importance.  While  from  the  bi- 
ologic standpoint  heredity  may  appear  to  be  the 


2       Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

more  important  influence,  yet  in  the  scheme  of 
evolution  the  higher  the  animal  the  more  im- 
portant and  influential  become  nurture  and  en- 
vironment. This  is  especially  emphasized  in 
the  human  race  by  the  prolongation  of  the 
period  of  infancy.  John  Fiske  was  the  first  to 
elaborate  this  fruitful  view  of  one  of  the  funda- 
mental laws  of  higher  evolution,  that  not  only 
throws  a  strong  light  on  the  methods  of  evolu- 
tion but  lays  the  greatest  importance  upon  the 
period  of  infancy  as  influencing  the  future  de- 
velopment and  usefulness  of  the  individual. 

This  long  period  of  helpless  infancy  is  a  time 
of  extreme  plasticity  when  the  career  of  the 
individual  is  no  longer  predetermined  by  the 
career  of  its  ancestor.  One  generation  of  the 
lower  animals  is  nearly  an  exact  reproduction 
of  the  preceding  one.  The  young  animal  is 
born  almost  fully  formed  and  can  look  out  for 
itself  at  once  or  shortly  after  birth,  independ- 
ently of  the  parent.  The  longer  the  infancy 
and  growing  time  of  an  animal  the  longer  the 
period  of  its  teachability;  and  a  slow  growth 
means  an  increase  both  in  capacity  for  develop- 


Importance  of  the  Child  3 

ment  and  of  all  the  loftier  prerogatives.  Thus 
the  higher  apes  have  a  babyhood  when  for  two 
or  three  months  they  are  unable  to  feed  them- 
selves or  move  about  independently  of  the  par- 
ent. The  human  infant  is  distinguished  from 
the  highest  of  the  lower  animals  by  the  much 
longer  duration  of  helpless  infancy  and  the 
marked  increase  in  the  size  of  the  brain,  particu- 
larly in  the  extent  of  its  surface.  There  is 
here  a  great  increase  in  the  size  and  complex- 
ity of  brain  organization  that  takes  place 
largely  after  birth.  Accompanying  the  rapid 
growth  of  the  nervous  system  is  that  of  the 
skeleton  and  various  visceral  organs. 

During  the  first  two  years  of  life,  the  brain 
not  only  doubles  in  weight  but  increases  marvel- 
ously  in  its  convolutions  and  complexity.  The 
infinite  distance  between  man  and  the  lower 
animals  consists  in  the  fact  that,  in  the  former, 
natural  selection  confines  itself  principally  to 
the  surface  of  the  brain,  which  requires  a  long 
period  of  helpless  infancy  for  this  highly  plastic 
work  to  be  properly  started  and  developed. 
Inherited  tendencies  are  there,  but  the  proper 


4      Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

environment  counts  for  much  in  this  work,  so 
potent  in  future  possibilities. 

It  is  evident  that,  correlated  with  this  long 
period  of  infancy  there  must  be  a  time  of 
maternal  care  and  watchfulness  if  the  race  is  to 
exist  in  health  and  vigor.  Knowledge  is  re- 
quired as  well  as  care,  for  mistakes  made 
at  this  time  can  never  be  completely  corrected. 
The  first  few  years  of  life  are,  biologically 
speaking,  the  most  important  ones  we  live.  The 
beginning  organism  has  at  this  time  stamped 
on  it  the  possibilities  of  future  vigorous  life 
or  of  early  degeneration  and  decay.  This  is 
to  a  certain  extent  true  all  through  the  period 
of  childhood,  from  birth  to  adolescence.  Hence 
a  careful  study  and  understanding  of  all  the 
phases  of  infancy  and  childhood  are  of  the 
greatest  importance  alike  to  physicians,  parents 
and  society  at  large.  This  is  the  only  period 
where  really  constructive  and  permanent  work 
can  be  accomplished.  Through  intelligent  di- 
rection children  may  be  taken  out  of  environ- 
ments which  will  develop  the  worst  and  placed 


Importance  of  the  Child  5 

in   surroundings   that  will   nurture   the   best. 

There  has  probably  been  no  era  in  the  history 
of  the  world  when  such  importance  must  be  at- 
tached to  the  coming  generation.  Sir  George 
Newman,^  in  a  report  on  the  health  of  English 
school-children,  well  states  that  the  War,  more 
than  anything  else,  has  brought  home  to  the 
public  the  conception  of  the  child  as  a  primary 
national  asset,  and  that  no  investment  and  no 
national  economy  can  compare  in  results  with 
the  care  of  the  rising  generation. 

Civilization  itself  seems  to  be  at  the  parting 
of  the  ways.  All  kinds  of  wild  and  destructive 
theories  are  in  the  air.  It  is  certain  that  radical 
and  abrupt  changes,  which  are  manifestations 
of  primitive  intellectual  and  emotional  re- 
actions, will  result  in  disaster.  These  elemen- 
tal passions  and  strivings  that  find  outlet  in  law- 
lessness and  revolt  are  a  result  of  an  intellec- 
tual and  emotional  instability  that  are  rever- 
sions to  the  childhood  of  the  race.  It  has  been 
well  said  that  we  have  had  a  world  in  conflict; 

1  British  Medical  Journal,  Oct.  6th,  1917. 


6      Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

now  we  have  a  world  in  revolt.  We  are  living 
in  an  unstable,  shell-shocked  age. 

It  is  only  by  starting  with  the  child  and  build- 
ing up  a  sound  physical,  mental  and  moral  struc- 
ture that  the  future  manhood  can  carry  on 
successfully  and  erect  a  safer  social  structure. 
To  prepare  a  better  world,  we  must  provide 
better  men  and  women,  physically,  mentally  and 
morally, — and  we  should  start  with  the  child. 
Broken  physiques,  like  old  sinners,  are  hard  to 
help  or  control.  Many  biologists  believe  that 
the  human  race  is  degenerating  and  losing  some 
of  its  old  stamina. 

The  call  of  the  day  is  for  conservation, — of 
effort,  of  food,  of  health,  and,  above  all,  of  life 
itself.  But  merely  saving  life  is  not  enough. 
It  should  be  rendered  strong  and  efficient.  We 
have  recently  had  warnings  that  we  must  im- 
prove our  methods  in  handling  the  mental  and 
physical  life  of  the  time.  A  high  percentage  of 
rejections  for  physical  reasons  among  the  young 
men  of  the  country,  drawn  by  draft  or  volun- 
teering in  the  army, — averaging  one  in  four, — 


Importance  of  the  Child         7 

gives  food  for  thought.  There  must  be  a 
sustained  and  prolonged  effort  all  along  the  line 
for  improving  these  conditions. 

What  is  the  way  out?  Many  foolish  and 
inadequate  theories  are  advanced,  but  even- 
tually it  must  come  through  the  child.  The 
present  nerve-shattered  generation  may  get 
along  as  best  it  may,  but  we  must  start  at  the 
foundations  and  build  a  better,  stronger  race 
for  the  future.  We  can  try  and  beget  a  sounder 
generation  and  so  train  it  as  to  secure  strong 
bodies,  steady  nerves,  broad  judgment  and  wide 
vision.  We  can  only  avoid  a  threatened  racial 
impoverislunent  through  the  child.  Not  only 
is  the  physical  development  supremely  impor- 
tant in  the  opening  years,  but  mental  and  moral 
impressions  experienced  during  this  period,  al- 
though often  forgotten,  may  deeply  affect 
later  life. 

The  future  of  the  world  depends  on  the  child. 
All  advance,  all  the  new  orientation  the  world 
has  hoped  for  and  largely  failed  in  attaining, 
may  come  in  the  new  generation  if  the  chil- 


8      Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

dren  can  only  be  properly  molded.  All  the  un- 
solved individual  and  social  problems  may  be 
more  hopefully  approached  if  we  can  but  pre- 
pare better  material  with  which  to  make  the 
effort. 

What  can  we  do  about  heredity?  How  can 
environment  be  best  controlled?  How  can  we 
secure  a  better  race? 

Upon  the  proper  answer  to  these  questions 
depends  the  future  of  civilization.  The  first 
and  sure  thing  to  do  is  this, — Concentrate  on 
THE  Child. 


CHAPTER  II 


OKGANIC   INHEKITANCE 


The  writer  is  not  a  pure  scientist  but  a  practi- 
cal worker  who  has  devoted  many  years  to  a 
study  of  the  actual  problems  of  childhood. 
Some  of  the  apparent  laws  of  biology,  as  pro- 
mulgated by  various  interpreters,  seem  to  point 
to  a  sort  of  hopeless  determinism.  An  effort  is 
here  made  to  glance  at  these  laws  from  a 
different  angle,  to  see  if  a  more  encouraging  out- 
look cannot  be  maintained. 

Wliich  is  the  preponderating  and  all-impor- 
tant influence  in  life,  nature  or  nurture, 
heredity  or  environment  f  Both  are  vitally  im- 
portant, but  which  must  be  stressed  in  our 
thought  and  action?  Upon  the  answer  to  this 
question  depends  much  of  our  attitude  toward 
some  of  the  pressing  problems  of  life.  If  the 
first  is  over-emphasized,  we  will,  at  best,  be 
landed  in  a  sort  of  benevolent  fatalism;  if  the 

9 


10     Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

second  looms  up  in  importance,  it  encourages 
hope  and  effort.  This  question  starts  with  the 
beginning  of  life  and  ends  with  its  close. 
It  is  at  the  beginning,  however,  that  it  as- 
sumes the  greatest  importance  for  here  is 
where  change  and  accomplishment  are  pos- 
sible. 

The  evolution  of  all  life,  plant  as  well  as 
animal,  depends  upon  the  action  of  the  follow- 
ing great  forces, —  heredity,  reproduction,  vari- 
ation and  environment.  Let  us  glance  at  some 
of  the  ideas  held  by  various  biologists  on  the 
subject  of  heredity.  The  older  views  were  ad- 
vanced by  Lamarck  and  Darwin.  Lamarck 
believed  that  organisms  could  be  modified  by 
environment,  and  such  modifications  occurring 
during  the  life  of  the  animal  could  be  passed 
along  by  organic  inheritance.  This  view,  of 
course,  stressed  the  influence  of  environment 
and  held  that  evolution  proceeds  by  means  of 
the  inheritance  of  acquired  characters.  These 
characters  that  might  proceed  from  use,  need 
or  desire,  formed  the  basis  of  progressive  evolu- 
tion.   He    stated    that    ''all    that    has    been 


Organic  Inheritance  ii 

acquired  or  altered  in  the  organization  of  in- 
dividuals during  their  lives  is  preserved  by 
generation  and  transmitted  by  individuals 
which  sprang  from  those  which  have  undergone 
these  changes."  By  developing  functional 
activity  of  organs,  in  other  words,  by  constantly 
employing  them,  hereditary  as  well  as  other 
values  could  be  obtained.  Thus  developed  the 
idea  known  as  use  inheritance. 

Darwin  believed  that  evolution  takes  place 
through  natural  selection  or  the  struggle  for  ex- 
istence and  the  survival  of  the  fittest.  This,  as 
well  as  other  forms  of  variability,  may  depend 
on  changing  conditions  of  life.  He  held  that 
alterations  in  the  environment  acting  directly 
or  indirectly  on  the  animal  might  produce  vari- 
ation in  inheritance  by  becoming  cumulative 
through  a  series  of  generations.  Conversely, 
individuals,  families  and  races  that  can  not 
adapt  themselves  to  a  changing  enviroimaent 
wdll  gradually  yield  to  the  law  of  natural  selec- 
tion and  disappear.  Families  and  races  that 
failed  to  properly  reproduce  will  yield  more 
quickly  to  this  law  both  as  to  cause  and  effect. 


12     Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

These  opinions  are  becoming  displaced  in  the 
minds  of  many  biologists  by  what  may  be  con- 
sidered a  more  modern  view. 

Independent  life  begins  by  the  union  of  two 
cells,  the  ovum  and  sperm  cell,  which  is  known 
as  conception.  The  influences  of  heredity  are 
then  closed  as  far  as  this  individual  life  is  con- 
cerned and  any  further  influence  upon  develop- 
ment must  come  from  environment.  It  has 
been  well  said  that  after  conception  the  mother 
is  only  a  nurse  to  the  child.  The  modern  biol- 
ogist, however,  lays  the  greatest  stress  upon 
the  nature  and  influence  of  these  germinal  cells. 
This  germinal  substance,  minute  as  it  is,  as 
distinguished  from  the  rest  of  the  body,  is  en- 
tirely distinct,  and  little,  if  any,  influenced  by 
the  other  tissues.  A  radical  distinction  is  thus 
drawn  between  the  germ  and  the  soma,  as  the 
rest  of  the  body  is  called.  The  only  character- 
istics that  can  be  passed  along  by  organic  in- 
heritance are  such  as  have  been  contained  in 
the  germinal  substance  of  the  egg  and  the 
sperm  cell.  The  direct  implication  from  this 
doctrine  is  that  the  condition  of  the  body  as  a 


Organic  Inheritance  13 

whole,  apart  from  the  germ  cells,  has  no  in- 
fluence upon  inheritance.  This  naturally  leads 
up  to  the  doctrine  of  Weismann  that  acquired 
characters  are  not  transmitted  by  inheritance. 
While  traits  may  be  transmitted  that  the  indi- 
vidual has  himself  inherited,  those  that  have 
been  acquired  by  his  own  actions  cannot  be 
passed  on  to  posterity.  This  germ  plasm  con- 
tinues along  through  different  generations 
as  an  unending  stream  and  each  individual  body 
acts  as  a  receptacle  and  conserver  of  an  im- 
perishable part. 

The  most  vital  part  of  every  body  cell  is  a 
minute  spot  called  the  nucleus.  In  the  sex 
cells  there  are  located  in  the  nuclei  marvelously 
minute  germinal  units  known  as  chromosomes. 
Each  of  these  chromosomes  contains  deter- 
miners, every  one  of  which  acts  as  a  determin- 
ant of  some  hereditary  character.  It  is  even 
believed  that  a  special  spot  in  each  chromosome 
holds  the  determiner  for  each  character.  Dif- 
ferent chromosomes  may  come  from  different 
ancestors  and  they  may  be  combined  in  many 
varying   ways,   which   accounts   for   different 


14     Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

traits  seen  in  the  offspring.  As  there  are  nu- 
merous possible  and  diverse  combinations  of 
these  ancestral  germ  units,  we  can  understand 
how  varying  may  be  the  characteristics  of 
different  individuals.  Numberless  combina- 
tions may  be  possible  as  it  has  been  estimated 
that  there  are  48  chromosomes  in  the  sex  cells 
of  the  white  woman.  It  is  further  supposed 
that  variation  may  be  caused  by  a  recombi- 
nation of  these  ancestral  germ  units  in  future 
generations,  as  well  as  by  changes  that  may 
take  place  in  the  germ  plasm  itself.  Pro- 
longed undernourishment  and  various  poisons 
may  ultimately  have  a  disastrous  effect  upon 
the  germ  plasm.  It  is  not  supposed,  however, 
that  changes  in  the  body  plasm  or  soma  can 
have  direct  effect  on  the  germ  plasm. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  theories  concern- 
ing the  method  of  action  of  heredity  is  known  as 
Mendelism,  a  term  taken  from  the  name  of  Gre- 
gor  Mendel  by  whom  it  was  first  elaborated. 
According  to  this  theory,  the  unit  characters  in 
the  sex  cells  do  not  blend  but  remain  distinct 
and  are  thus  passed  along  at  birth.    These 


Organic  Inheritance  15 

cliaraciters  always  'retain  their  individuality 
and  when  they  are  different  and  exclusive,  the 
more  active  character  is  said  to  be  dominant 
and  the  more  passive  one  recessive.  Mendel 
believed  that  paired  characters  received  from 
the  parents  are  so  segregated  in  the  ovum  and 
sperm  cell  of  the  offspring  that  only  one  of  the 
characters  is  contained  in  each  of  these  germ 
cells.  Thus  when  there  are  two  contrasted 
pairs  of  characters  in  the  parent  only  one 
(dominant)  will  appear  in  the  offspring.  These 
distinct  characters  are  called  pure,  and  the  es- 
sential fact  of  Mendel's  law  is  that  the  char- 
acters in  the  germ  cells  always  retain  their 
purity  or  distinctiveness.  In  the  offspring  of 
hybrids  25  per  cent,  of  dominant  and  recessive 
characters  will  reappear  as  pure.  It  is  gen- 
erally found  that  the  characters,  dominant  and 
recessive,  transmitted  by  hybrids  will  be  split 
in  a  general  ratio  of  three  to  one. 

Professor  Edwin  Grant  Conklin  *  defines  he- 
redity as  the  particular  germinal  organization 
that  is  transmitted  from  parents  to  offspring. 

1  Heredity  and  Environment  in  the  Development  of  Men. — 
Princeton  University  Press. 


i6     Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

To  quote, — *' Heritage  is  the  sum  of  all  those 
qualities  which  are  determined  or  caused  by 
this  germinal  organization.  Development  is 
progressive  and  co-ordinated  differentiation  of 
this  germinal  organization  by  which  it  is  trans- 
ferred into  the  adult  organization."  Again, 
''Inherited  traits  are  not  transmitted  from 
parents  to  offspring  but  the  germinal  factors  or 
causes  are  transmitted,  and  under  proper  con- 
ditions of  environment  these  give  rise  to  de- 
veloped characters.  Every  oosperm  as  well  as 
every  developed  organism  differs  more  or  less 
from  every  other  one,  and  this  remarkable  con- 
dition is  brought  about  by  extremely  numerous 
permutations  in  the  distribution  of  the  chro- 
mosomes of  the  sex  cells  in  maturation  and 
fertilization."  Professor  Henry  Fairfield  Os- 
born,  in  his  remarkable  book,  The  Origin  and 
Evolution  of  Life,  falls  back  on  an  energy  con- 
ception of  life.  Some  of  his  ideas  are  put  in  a 
striking  way  as  follows, — ''We  know  to  some 
extent  how  plants  and  animals  evolve;  we  do 
not  know  why  they  evolve*  *  *  *  *  All  the  ex- 
planations    of    evolution    which    have    been 


Organic  Inheritance  17 

offered  by  three  generations  of  naturalists  align 
themselves  under  two  main  ideas  only.  The 
first  is  the  idea  that  the  causes  of  evolution  are 
chiefly  from  without  inward,  namely,  beginning 
in  the  environment  of  the  body  and  extending: 
into  the  germ;  this  idea  is  centripetal.  The 
second  idea  is  just  the  reverse:  it  is  centrif- 
ugal, namely,  that  the  causes  begin  in  the 
germ  and  extend  outward  and  into  the  body  and 
into  the  environment.  *****  Weismann^s 
great  contribution  to  thought  has  been  to  point 
out  the  very  sharp  distinction  which  un- 
doubtedly exists  between  the  hereditary  forces 
and  predispositions  in  the  heredity-germ  and 
the  visable  expression  of  these  forces  in  the 
organism.  The  problem  of  causes  of  evolution 
has  become  an  infinitely  more  difficult  one  since 
Weismann  has  compelled  us  to  realize  that  the 
essential  question  is  the  causes  of  germinal  evo- 
lution rather  than  the  causes  of  bodily  evolu- 
tion or  of  environmental  evolution.  ***** 
The  idea  that  the  germ  is  an  energy  complex  is 
an  as  yet  unproved  hypothesis ;  it  has  not  been 
demonstrated.    The  heredity-germ  in  some  re- 


l8     Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

spects  bears  a  likeness  to  latent  or  potential 
interacting  energy,  while  in  other  respects  it  is 
entirely  unique.  The  supposed  germ  energy 
is  not  only  cumulative  but  is  in  a  sense  imper- 
ishable, self -perpetuating,  and  continuous  dur- 
ing the  whole  period  of  the  evolution  of  life 
upon  the  earth.*  *  *  *  *  While  we  owe  to 
matter  and  form  the  revelation  of  the  existence 
of  the  great  law  of  evolution,  we  must  reverse 
our  thought  in  the  search  for  causes  and  take 
steps  toward  an  energy  conception  of  the  origin 
of  life  and  an  energy  conception  of  the  nature 
of  heredity. ' ' 

Although  the  theories  of  hereditary  action 
are  thus  somewhat  diverse,  certain  general  facts 
may  be  noted  upon  which  there  is  agreement. 
Herbert  Spencer  defines  heredity  as  the  law 
that  each  plant  or  animal,  if  it  reproduces,  gives 
origin  to  others  like  itself,  the  likeness  con- 
sisting not  so  much  in  the  repetition  of  indivi- 
dual traits  as  in  the  assumption  of  the  same 
general  structure. 

According  to  Galton*s  law  of  ancestral  in- 


Organic  Inheritance  19 

heritance,  the  two  parents  contribute  between 
them  on  an  average  one-half  of  each  inherited 
quality,  one-fourth  being  contributed  by  each 
of  them.  The  four  grandparents  contribute 
one-si:xteenth,  or  altogether  one-fourth  of  the 
inherited  faculties,  and  the  farther  back  one 
goes  the  less  Avill  naturally  be  the  influence. 
Pearson,  another  authority,  believes  that  par- 
ents have  relatively  more  influence  than  grand- 
parents, as  indicated  in  the  above  ratio,  al- 
though accepting  the  general  principle  of  the 
law  of  ancestral  inheritance. 

It  must  be  acknowledged  that  in  respect  to 
organic  heredity  there  are  many  gaps  in  our 
knowledge,  and  it  must  also  be  borne  in  mind 
that  most  of  the  studies  of  biologists  have  been 
made  upon  plants  and  the  lower  animals  and 
their  generalizations  can  only  partly  apply  to 
human  beings.  In  the  scheme  of  evolution,  the 
higher  the  animal  the  slower  and  more  import- 
ant becomes  its  period  of  growth.  This  is  es- 
pecially emphasized,  as  already  noted,  in  hu- 
man beings  by  the  prolongation  of  the  period  of 
infancy   and   the   many   subsequent   years   of 


20     Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

growth  before  complete  development  is  ob- 
tained. It  accordingly  follows  that  heredity 
seems  to  be  more  important  as  an  influence  in 
the  lower  organisms  than  in  man. 


CHAPTER  in 


SOCIAL.  INHEEITANCE 


In  a  recent  valuable  discussion  on  the  ques- 
tion of  social  heredity  and  evolution,  Professor- 
Herbert  William  Conn  ^  has  plainly  shown  how 
the  laws  of  the  evolution  of  animals  and  plants 
apply  to  human  evolution  only  up  to  a  certain 
point  beyond  which  man  has  been  under  the 
influence  of  distinct  laws  of  his  own.  He  draws 
attention  to  facts  proving  that  the  human  social 
unit  has  been  developed  by  a  new  set  of  forces 
which  have  had  little  or  no  influence  in  the  ani- 
mal kingdom.  Moreover,  these  forces  are  under 
the  control,  to  some  extent,  of  society  and  the 
individual. 

In  line  with  this  thought.  Professor  E.  G-. 
Conklin  states  that  a  relatively  poor  inheri- 
tance with  excellent  environmental  conditions 

1  Sockkl  Heredity  and  Social  Ewlution:  The  Other  Side  of 
Eugenics — The  Abington  Press. 

21 


22,     Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

often  produces  better  results  than  a  good  in- 
heritance with  poor  conditions.  He  further 
believes  that  hereditary  possibilities  may  re- 
main latent  and  undeveloped  unless  stimulated 
into  activity  by  environment. 

This  leads  to  the  distinction  that  may  be  made 
between  individual  and  social  evolution,  the 
forces  of  which  are  controlled  by  different  laws. 
For  the  individual  we  have  biological  heredity ; 
for  society  we  have  what  may  properly  be  called 
a  social  heredity  that  passes  along  accumula- 
tions gained  by  parents  from  the  surrounding 
civilization, — in  other  words,  from  the  environ- 
ment. These  are  the  acquired  characters  that 
can  be  passed  along  from  parents  to  offspring 
by  teaching  and  example,  although  not  by  direct 
biological  inheritance.  While  the  latter,  ac- 
cording to  modern  science,  cannot  be  immedi- 
ately influenced,  the  social  inheritance  and  evo- 
lution of  the  individual  can  be  powerfully  af- 
fected by  education. 

A  glance  at  some  of  the  characters  that 
may  be  acquired  by  social  heredity  shows  how 
large  a  number  of  important  influences  lie  en- 
tirely outside  organic  heredity. 


Social  Inheritance  23 

What  are  the  principal  acquirements  that  the 
parent  has  already  learned  from  his  surround- 
ings and  can  thus  teach  to  his  offspring!  These 
have  been  well  summarized  by  Professor  Conn. 
The  first  and  most  fundamental  acquirement  is 
language.  This  is  evidently  a  social  inheri- 
tance as  the  infant  of  the  most  cultured  parents 
is  just  as  unable  to  speak  as  the  offspring  of 
mentally  deficient  people.  While  a  few  of  the 
lower  animals  emit  sounds  that  doubtless  pos- 
sess rudimentary  efforts  toward  the  exercise  of 
language,  the  human  animal  has  reached  full 
development  in  civilization  and  knowledge 
through  this  constantly  exercised  social  in- 
heritance that  is  at  first  gained  by  simple  im- 
itation and  not  by  organic  inheritance.  A  new- 
born baby  of  the  present  age  is  just  as  helpless 
as  if  born  in  the  stone  age,  and  probably  essen- 
tially the  same  in  organic  nature. 

Not  only  the  use  of  spoken  words  but  the 
ability  to  write  them  down  is  another  example 
of  social  inheritance  that  lays  the  foundation 
for  all  knowledge.  The  possibilities  of  learn- 
ing thus  come  largely  through  social  relation- 
ships.   The  great  accumulation  of  facts  and 


/ 


24     Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

generalizations  leading  to  laws  that  partially 
explain  many  of  the  phenomena  of  nature  and 
life  could  not  have  been  preserved  or  passed 
along  from  generation  to  generation  without  the 
ability  to  record  them  and  thus  elevate  and 
ennoble  the  mind.  Professor  Stewart  Paton  ^ 
puts  it  thus, — '^If  we  recognize  that  the  mind 
is  largely  a  social  product,  we  shall  avoid  many 
of  the  unnecessary  difficulties  introduced  into 
the  discussion  of  the  inheritance  of  mental 
characteristics.  Because  of  the  fact  that  the 
mental  make-up  is,  to  a  considerable  extent,  the 
result  of  environmental  stimuli,  it  is  to  be  con- 
sidered as  a  'social  contribution.'  Mental 
potentiality  is  conditioned  by  heredity,  but 
development  is  encouraged  or  inhibited  very 
largely  by  what  happens  after  birth.  There  is 
also  some  reason  to  believe  that  changes  in  nur- 
ture may  serve  as  stimuli  affecting  the  growth 
of  the  embryo  through  the  parental  germ  cells. " 
The  existence  of  a  moral  sense  that  can  dis- 
tinguish right  from  wrong  is  not  born  with  the 
individual.     The  infant  has  no  moral  sense  and 

1  Human  Behavior — Charles  Scribner'a  Sons. 


Social  Inheritance  25 

is  a  perfect  example  of  unadulterated  selfish- 
ness. Conscience,  that  best  trait  of  later  life, 
does  not  exist  at  the  start.  Altruistic  traits 
that  really  form  the  foundation  of  what  is  best 
in  modern  civilization  are  not  found  at  the 
beginning  of  life  but  must  be  cultivated  by  in- 
struction and  example, — in  other  words,  they 
are  socially  acquired.  The  possibilities  of 
moral  development  may  doubtless  vary  accord- 
ing to  innate  inheritances  which  are  influenced 
by  organic  conditions,  but  the  superstructure 
must  be  acquired  by  the  teaching  and  example 
of  others. 

The  very  construction  and  existence  of  society 
depend  upon  numerous  and  diverse  social  inher- 
itances. The  functioning  of  government,  the 
accumulation  of  wealth,  many  artificial  con- 
ditions of  environment  that  minister  to  the 
higher  life  of  the  race,  and  numerous  other  fac- 
tors that  distinguish  human  life  from  mere 
animal  life  proceed  from  social  ideals  that  are 
handed  on  from  generation  to  generation.  The 
origin  and  continuance  of  the  human  family  is 
largely  owing  to  the  same  influence.  It  is  thus 
evident  that  the  evolution  of  the  organic  body 


26     Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

as  such  and  the  evolution  of  society  proceed 
according  to  laws  that  are  widely  divergent, 
but  the  higher  traits  in  human  evolution  and  in 
civilization  itself  depend  on  social  and  not  on 
organic  inheritance. 

While  some  lower  forms  of  life,  as  bees  and 
ants,  show  organization  in  a  remarkable  degree, 
it  is  due  to  instinct  that  plays  only  a  minor  part 
in  human  development.  Instincts  are  due 
entirely  to  organic  inheritance  and  function  ow- 
ing to  a  certain  definite  structure  of  nerve  cen- 
tres and  ganglia.  These  ganglia  always  give 
the  same  automatic  response  to  all  stimuli  with 
changeless  uniformity.  It  is  thus  the  structure 
of  the  nervous  system  that  accounts  for  the 
wonderful  phenomena  often  exhibited  by  the 
instincts  and  these  do  not  depend  on  learning 
or  experience.  While  the  lower  animals  are 
guided  by  their  instincts,  man  exhibits  an  ini- 
tiative power  drawn  from  acquired  knowl- 
edge. 

It  is  thus  seen  that  a  broader  view  of  all  the 
conditions  surrounding  heredity  makes  for  a 
more  hopeful  outlook  for  human  beings  as  dis- 
tinguished from  lower  animals.    At  first  view. 


Social  Inheritance  27 

Weismann^s  theory  that  every  child  is  molded 
solely  by  inherited  tendencies  that  cannot  be 
essentially  altered  and  that  acquired  traits  are 
not  transmitted  seems  to  make  for  a  loss  of  per- 
sonal responsibility  and  a  pessimistic  outlook. 
Granting  that  this  may  be  true  on  the  strictly 
biologic  side,  we  have  the  possibility  of  a  wide 
and  splendid  social  inheritance  that  may  do 
much  to  shape  life 's  currents  and  even  compen- 
sate for  some  of  the  defects  of  organic  heritage. 

Some  of  our  leading  biologists  seem  to  be 
taking  more  hopeful  views.  Professor  Don- 
caster  1  observes  that  what  is  inherited  is  not 
the  character  acquired  but  the  innate  power  of 
acquiring  it.  While  the  germ  cell  determines 
whether  and  to  what  extent  a  change  shall 
take  place,  the  environment  supplies  the 
stimulus. 

Professor  Conklin  states  that  the  experiences 
and  laccomplislmients  of  past  generations  are 
not  inherited  through  the  germ  cells  but  through 
society.  Then  he  makes  the  f  ollomng  trenchant 
remark, — * '  Social  heredity  has  outrun  germinal 

t- Heredity — Cambridge  University  Press. 


28     Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

heredity  and  the  intellectual,  social,  and  moral 
responsibilities  of  our  times  are  too  great  for 
many  men."  This  is  one  of  our  present- 
day  troubles,  as  the  physical,  intellectual  and 
social  developments  of  the  age  have  out-dis- 
tanced its  moral  development.  Lathrop  Stod- 
dard ^  puts  it  thus, — ''The  truth  is  that  as  civi- 
lization advances  it  leaves  behind  multitudes  of 
human  beings  who  have  not  the  capacity  to 
keep  pace.  *****  These  are  not  'degener- 
ates'; they  are  'primitives,^  carried  over  into 
a  social  environment  in  which  they  do  not  be- 
long." The  intelligence  tests  made  upon  large 
numbers  of  young  men  recruited  for  the  army 
during  the  last  war  showed  an  astonishingly 
large  number  of  morons  whose  mental  age  did 
not  exceed  twelve  years. 

Again  to  quote  Professor  Conn, — "Our 
eugenists  tell  us  that  an  evil  trait  may  persist 
in  a  family  for  generations  in  spite  of  any  kind 
of  training  and  even  in  spite  of  mating  with  one 
in  whom  the  weakness  is  lacking.  The  laws  of 
organic  heredity  make  it  hopeless  to  strive  in 

1  The  Revolt  Against  Civilization — Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 


Social  Inheritance  29 

any  kind  of  life  either  to  eradicate  a  weakness 
or  to  introduce  strength  into  the  nature  of  our 
children.  Personal  responsibility  thus  tends 
to  vanish  entirely  as  we  become  filled  with  this 
conception.  We  do  not  seem  responsible  for 
our  own  acts,  inasmuch  as  they  are  determined 
by  our  inherited  traits,  nor  are  we  responsible  f 
for  our  children 's  inheritance,  since  it  is  beyond 
our  reach.  The  life  one  lives  seems  to  weigh  as  ' 
nothing  and  to  be  without  any  influence.  ***** 
Among  animals,  individuals  certainly  are  not 
responsible  either  for  their  own  inheritance  or 
that  of  their  offspring.  But  when  we  realize 
that  human  social  evolution  has  not  been  an 
organic  one,  and  that  it  has  been  due  not  to  con- 
genital but  to  acquired  characters,  not  to  organic 
but  to  social  heredity,  the  sense  of  responsibility 
for  our  lives  comes  back  to  us  with  greater 
force  than  ever.  It  is  exactly  these  acquired 
characters  that  are  forming  the  future.  It  is 
the  lives  that  men  live  that  create  social  inheri- 
tance. It  is  not  a  matter  of  indifference  to  our 
children  or  to  posterity  in  general  what  kind  of 
life  we  individually  live.  We  are  responsible 
for  the  social  heritage  that  we  give  our  children,^ 


30     Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

even  if  we  are  not  responsible  for  their  organic 
heritage.  We  may  greatly  modify  the  social 
inheritance  of  our  offspring,  even  after  they  are 
born,  though  we  may  not  modify  their  organic 
inheritance ;  and  in  determining  what  they  will 
become  and  what  they  will  do  in  the  world,  the 
social  inheritance  commonly  counts  much  more 
than  the  organic  inheritance.  *****  The 
heritage  of  the  race  is  determined  more  by 
what  men  do  than  by  what  they  inherit  from 
their  parents  by  organic  inheritance.  ***** 
Organic  heredity  simply  gives  us  certain  pow- 
ers, while  social  heredity  determines  what  we 
shall  do  with  those  powers.  Man  is  molded  into 
a  social  individual  by  social  forces,  and  whether 
or  not  he  fits  into  our  society  depends  more 
upon  the  social  forces  at  work  than  upon  the 
powers  that  nature  gave  him.  Even  though  he 
have  an  inheritance  weak  both  mentally  and 
morally,  an  individual  may  be  molded  into  a 
fairly  good  member  of  the  social  organism  if  he 
is  surrounded  by  proper  environment;  but  if 
he  is  reared  in  the  wrong  environment,  tend- 
ing to  produce  a  wrong  social  inheritance,  he 


Social  Inheritance  31 

will  be  an  undesirable  member  of  society,  no 
matter  what  may  have  been  his  innate  powers. 
*****  The  real  stimulus  which  has  acted 
upon  man  to  produce  his  wonderful  develop- 
ment in  contrast  to  animals  has  been  the  util- 
ization of  the  new  force  of  social  inheritance." 
These  hopeful  and  stimulating  words  may 
serve  as  added  warning  not  to  put  too  much 
stress  upon  biological  generalizations  derived 
exclusively  from  plant  and  animal  life.  What 
is  often  attributed  to  organic  inheritance  may, 
in  the  last  analysis,  be  largely  due  to  social 
inheritance.  Do  the  children  of  thieves, 
drunkards,  and  prostitutes  turn  out  badly  prin- 
cipally because  of  birth,  or  from  living  in  the 
company  and  wdth  the  example  of  degenerates  ? 
It  may  be  that  some  individual  developments 
attributed  to  organic  heredity  are,  to  a  large  ex- 
tent really  due  to  environment.  This  thought 
might  be  applied  to  two  classic  examples  in 
heredity.  The  children  of  the  Jukes'  family, 
we  must  remember,  were  brought  up  by  the 
Jukes,    and   the   Edwards'   family  were   sur- 


32     Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

rounded  by  elevating  and  stimulating  influences 
from  birth.  Perhaps  the  Edwards'  owed 
about  as  much  to  an  ideal  social  as  to  a  good 
organic  heritage. 

For  many  years  I  was  one  of  the  directors  of 
the  Children's  Village  located  in  the  country 
near  New  York.  Incorrigible  boys  are  com- 
mitted here  by  the  courts  for  necessary  restraint 
and  education,  after  committing  petty  crimes. 
At  the  Village  they  are  sent  to  school  in  a  cot- 
tage community,  given  vocational  training,  and 
their  energies  have  free  outlet  in  outdoor  sports. 
In  other  words,  they  are  given  a  good  social  en- 
vironment to  take  the  place  of  former  bad  sur- 
roundings. The  great  majority  of  these  chil- 
dren eventually  turn  out  well.  Many  have  been 
sent  West  where  they  have  made  good  citizens 
and  some  have  even  become  eminent  in  their 
communities.  Doubtless  a  large  number  of 
these  unfortunate  children  started  with  a  fairly 
good  organic  inheritance,  but,  whether  they  did 
or  not,  a  bad  social  inheritance  was  immediately 
responsible  for  their  downfall,  and,  when  this 


Social  Inheritance  33 

was  corrected,  a  favorable  result  nearly  always 
followed.  Many  similar  endeavors  have  shown 
equally  good  results.  Defective  eyesight, 
faulty  hearing,  diseased  tonsils  and  adenoids, 
are  often  causes  of  poor  school  records  and 
truancy  that  may  lead  to  petty  crimes. 

The  following  quotation  from  Ferguson  ^ 
sums  up  fairly  well  what  many  practical 
workers  believe  in  reference  to  the  factors  in 
human  heredity, — "In  lower  reaches  of  the 
process,  as  compared  with  the  higher,  heredity 
is  relatively  strong.  It  is  likely  enough  that 
characteristics  acquired  in  the  lifetime  of  the 
individual  are,  in  the  lower  orders,  transmitted 
by  heredity,  but  in  higher  life  this  seems  gen- 
erally not  to  be  the  case.  Heredity  is  seen  to 
be  a  failing  thing,  and  the  privileges  that  de- 
pend upon  it  are,  with  the  advancement  of  the 
world,  ever  shorter  and  shorter  lived.  The 
competencies  that  avail  in  the  highest  circles 
cannot  in  any  considerable  measure  be  passed 
on  from  generation  to  generation,  but  must  be 

1  The  Atfirmative  Intellect — Funk  &  Wagnalls  Co. 


34     Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

won  out  of  the  infinite  by  each  individual  for 
himself.  In  all  that  is  great  and  prevailing  an 
organism  is  born  not  of  the  flesh." 

There  are  many  with  a  good  biological  hered- 
ity who  have  never  attained  a  good  social  hered- 
ity,— in  other  words,  they  have  never  had  a  fair 
chance.  They  form  the  ''mute,  inglorious 
Miltons ' '  in  every  country  churchyard  that  Gray 
sang  about  in  his  immortal  Elegy. 


CHAPTER  IV 


SELECTIVE  BREEDING 


In  stressing  the  idea  that  many  of  out  best 
endowments  are  conferred  by  social  inheritance, 
we  must  remember  that  these  advantages  cannot 
come  to  their  best  fruition  unless  based  on  a 
good  organic  inheritance.  The  eugenist  tells 
us  that  the  principal  method  by  which  racial  im- 
provement can  take  place  consists  in  letting 
good  stock  reproduce  and  poor  stock  remain 
sterile.  This  means  that  every  possible 
measure  should  be  taken  to  increase  the  fertility 
of  the  best  types.  Superior  racial  stocks  must 
always  be  encouraged. 

A  recent  article  by  Major  Leonard  Darwin,^ 
after  discussing  the  danger  from  propagation 
of  inferior  stocks,  contains  the  following  state- 
ments,— *' Turning  to  the   other   side  of  the 

1  International  Journal   of  Public  Health,  Vol.    II,  No.   6, 

1021. 

35 


36     Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

question,  namely  the  endeavor  to  increase  the 
fertility  of  the  stocks  above  the  average  in  racial 
value  and  thus  to  improve  the  average  health 
of  future  generations,  progress  in  this  direc- 
tion would  be  promoted  by  a  widespread  know- 
ledge of  the  laws  of  natural  inheritance.  Such 
a  knowledge  would  create  a  tendency  to  shun 
marrying  into  a  family  notably  inferior  in  men- 
tal or  physical  qualities,  and  this  tendency  ought 
to  be  encouraged.  .  .  .  Sexual  selection  has 
often  in  nature  produced  marvelous  changes 
in  both  the  minds  and  the  bodies  of  animals,  and 
by  the  aid  of  conscious  efforts  sexual  selection 
could  be  made  to  produce  far  more  beneficial 
results  to  the  human  race  than  it  is  doing  at 
present." 

He  thus  believes  that  natural  heredity  can  be 
utilized  as  an  agency  for  promoting  the  wel- 
fare of  mankind.  He  also  calls  attention  to  an 
endeavor,  not  dependent  on  natural  inheritance, 
namely,  that  of  trying  to  improve  the  health 
of  our  descendants  by  preventing  children  from 
being  infected  or  poisoned  before  birth  by  the 
mothers. 


Selective  Breeding  37 

Sir  George  Newman  ^  makes  the  following 
observation, — *'If  we  are  to  grow  a  sound  and 
healthy  race  of  men  we  must  begin  where  all 
true  breeding  begins,  at  the  source.  If  we  per- 
mif,  ourselves  to  favor  and  provide  for  the  un- 
guided  propagation  of  a  population  of  poor  phy- 
sique or  of  persons  marked  from  birth  with  the 
stigmata  of  alcohol,  venereal  disease  or  mental 
deficiency,  we  shall  sooner  or  later  discover  that 
we  are  building  on  false  foundations,  and  with- 
out taking  sufficiently  into  our  reckoning  the 
laws  of  heredity,  of  transmission,  and  of  ante- 
natal infection. ' ' 

It  does  not  need  a  biologist  to  tell  us  that 
reproduction  will  yield  the  best  results  when 
parents  are  in  the  full  vigor  of  life.  They 
should  not  be  too  young  nor  too  old,  although 
these  terms  are  often  relative,  as  there  are 
very  marked  differences  in  individuals  as  re- 
gards the  phenomena  of  youth  or  age.  Beyond 
this  it  is  difficult  to  lay  down  exact  laws.  With 
reference  to  statutes  regulating  the  age  of 
marriage,  seventeen  states  have  none,  but  in 

1  An  Outline  of  the  Practice  of  Preventive  Medicine — Min- 
istry of  Health. 


38     Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

nine  of  these  common  law  has  fixed  the  age  for 
girls  at  twelve  years. 

The  tendency  in  modern  society  to  postpone 
the  marriage  age  is  not  regarded  with  favor  by 
eugenists.  It  is  largely  due  to  economic  causes 
and  is  especially  noted  among  the  educated  and 
desirable  classes.  It  is  highly  important  that 
efforts  should  be  made  by  some  sort  of  social  re- 
adjustment to  render  it  easy  for  this  class  to 
marry  earlier  in  life.  Good  health  should  be 
a  prerequisite  at  any  age. 

Another  view  is  advanced  by  Casper  L.  Red- 
field,^  who  has  made  an  extensive  statistical 
study  of  heredity.  He  believes  that  very  early 
marriages  are  apt  to  produce  children  lacking 
in  stamina  and  mental  power.  He  considers 
that  as  each  individual  undergoes  certain  physi- 
cal and  mental  changes  during  life,  those  condi- 
tions which  characterize  parents  at  different 
ages  are  transmitted  to  the  offspring  produced 
at  those  ages.  This  is  especially  exemplified  in 
mental  aptitudes,  as  the  children  of  youthful 
parents  are  usually  marked  by  the  character- 

1  Control  of  Heredity — ^Monarch  Book  Co. 


Selective  Breeding  39 

istics  of  youth  while  the  children  of  older  par- 
ents show  more  of  the  characteristics  of  age. 
Older  parents  are  thus  apt  to  have  intelligent 
offspring  and  many  historical  examples  of 
this  are  cited,  from  Aristotle  to  Benjamin 
Franklin. 

The  follo^\'ing  quotation  will  exemplify  his 
belief  on  this  subject, — ''The  period  of  adoles- 
cence is  a  period  of  sexual  intensity  and 
passion,  and  a  child  born  of  parents  at  this  age 
has  the  sexual  instincts  abnormally  developed, 
the  same  as  we  have  aggressiveness  from 
parents  of  25,  the  love  of  the  beautiful  from 
parents  of  35,  reasoning  and  practical  useful- 
ness from  parents  of  45,  and  morality  and  philo- 
sophy from  parents  over  50." 

Contrary  to  Weismann,  Redfield  believes  that 
traits  directly  acquired  by  the  efforts  of  the  in- 
dividual himself  can  be  transmitted.  He  finally 
states  the  following, — ''All  that  you  have 
learned  and  all  that  you  have  accomplished 
can  and  will  be  transmitted  to  future  genera- 
tions by  others  through  the  medium  of  records. 
But  in  whatever  measure  you  have  developed 
your  body  and  your  mind  by  patient  and  long- 


40     Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

continued  efforts,  that  measure  can  be  trans- 
mitted only  by  yourself  to  your  descendants, 
and  whatever  honor  these  descendants  achieve 
in  the  future,  that  honor  will  be  your  honor. '^ 

It  must  be  confessed  that  a  discussion  on  the 
proper  conditions  of  mating  is  always  largely 
academic  as  marriages  are  usually  not  con^ 
tracted  by  reason  but  by  passion  or  self-inter- 
est. The  preliminaries  are  approached  as  the 
result  of  affinity  or  hking  and  not  with  the  idea 
of  breeding  in  mind.  As  the  race  advances  in 
knowledge  and  control,  however,  the  latter 
will  be  kept  more  in  view.  After  all, 
it  is  what  to  avoid  in  mating  that  assumes 
the  principal  importance. 

Some  States  are  now  beginning  to  require  a 
medical  examination  and  certificate  before 
marriage  is  permitted.  This  is  good  as  far  as  it 
goes,  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  dis- 
eases for  which  the  examination  is  especially 
made  are  not  passed  along  by  organic  inheri- 
tance. They  are  infections  that,  in  an  active 
state,  can  be  passed  directly  from  one  parent 
to  the  other,  or  from  mother  to  child  before, 


Selective  Breeding  41 

during,  or  after  birth.  Pathogenic  bacteria 
are  not  incorporated  in  the  germ  plasm  itself. 
Syphilis  and  tuberculosis  are  the  most  impor- 
tant infections  that  may  in  this  way  be  passed 
along.  While  venereal  and  constitutional  dis- 
eases are  thus  spread  by  direct  infection,  they 
may  eventually  so  poison  the  germ  plasm  itself 
that  the  offspring  will  be  feeble  and  ailing 
although  not  having  a  specific  disease.  The 
lesson  from  all  this  is  that  candidates  for 
marriage  should  always  be  obliged  by  the  State 
to  submit  to  a  thorough  medical  examination  to 
prove  not  only  their  freedom  from  specific  infec- 
tions but  that  their  systems  have  not  been 
unduly  weakened  from  previous  attacks  of  con- 
stitutional disease.  Applicants  for  marriage 
licenses  should  be  obliged  to  prove  that  they 
are  physically  as  well  as  financially  fit  for 
marriage.  ^ 

Perhaps  the  next  great  danger  consists  in  the 
inheritance  of  various  neurotic  tendencies. 
While  nervous  disease  itself  may  not  be  passed 
along,  certain  abnormal  and  unstable  states  may 
eventuate  in  various  forms  of  insanity,  as  well 


42     Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

as  in  feeble-mmdedness,  epilepsy  and  mania. 
These  are  generally  considered  to  act  as  Mendel- 
ian  recessives.  Professor  Conklin  believes 
there  is  often  an  hereditary  basis  for  nervous 
or  phlegmatic  temperaments,  for  emotional, 
judicial  and  calculating  dispositions,  for 
strength  or  weakness  of  will,  for  tendencies  to 
moral  obliquity  or  rectitude,  and  for  capa- 
city or  incapacity  for  the  highest  intellec- 
tual pursuits.  There  is  great  danger  of  close 
blood  relatives  marrying  when  a  neurotic 
strain  runs  in  the  family.  When  free  of  this 
danger,  however,  evil  consequences  to  the  off- 
spring do  not  always  follow. 

There  is  a  large  class  in  every  community  that 
should  in  some  way  be  prevented  by  the  State 
from  propagating  their  kind.  The  reason  for. 
this  is  readily  seen  in  the  danger  and  expense 
they  put  upon  the  community  at  large. 

The  insane,  idiotic,  blind  and  deaf  mutes 
tend  to  increase  faster  in  proportion  than  the 
normal  healthy  population.  Paupers  and  the 
various  grades  of  criminal  poptilation  also 
freely  propagate.    A  careful  study  of  prisoners 


Selective  Breeding  43 

has  shown  that  a  majority  are  in  a  condition  of 
impaired  health,  that  many  are  in  an  unsound 
mental  condition  and  inclined  to  grave  diseases 
of  the  neurotic  t>T)e  which  tend  to  modify  the 
physical,  mental  and  moral  condition  from  bad 
inheritance. 

Perhaps  the  greatest  danger  exists  in  the  case 
of  feeble-mindedness.  It  has  been  estimated 
that  there  are  200,000  feeble-minded  persons 
in  the  United  States.  Of  this  large  number 
fully  nine-tenths  are  under  no  control  and  thus 
are  able  to  produce  their  kind.  It  is  from  this 
vast  army  that  criminals,  prostitutes  and  pau- 
pers are  recruited.  These  classes  have  an 
imperfect  development  of  the  higher  areas  of 
the  brain  and  a  moral  instability  that  often 
seems  impossible  to  correct.  They  cannot 
adjust  themselves  to  proper  social  standards 
and  quickly  become  incorrigible  when  tempta- 
tions or  unusual  demands  present  themselves. 
Unfortunately,  their  condition  does  not  pre- 
clude reproduction  but  rather  favors  it  from 
lack  of  conscience  and  control. 

One  of  the  great  problems  of  the  day  is  how 


44     Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

to  check  this  tainted  stream  not  only  for  the 
good  of  society  but  for  the  defectives  them- 
selves. A  plan  favored  by  some  is  to  subject 
them  to  sterihzation.  This  has  been  tried 
in  a  limited  way,  but  it  need  hardly  be  said 
there  are  great  social  and  legal  difficulties  in  the 
way  of  its  general  adoption.  A  recent  judicial 
decision  in  Oregon  holds  that  the  steriliza- 
tion law  adopted  by  that  State  is  unconstitu- 
tional. 

Is  there  no  other  way  of  handling  these  defec- 
tives, who  are  often  as  prolific  as  they  are 
undesirable!  Many  years  ago  I  advised  that 
they  be  permanently  quarantined.^  If  this  were 
done,  in  one  or  two  decades  they  would  die  out, 
and  the  world  would  be  free  of  its  principal 
source  of  criminals  and  defectives.  This  class 
should  be  permanently  isolated  from  the  rest 
of  society.  According  to  this  aspect,  the  ques- 
tion of  responsibility  or  punishment  does  not 
enter  into  the  question  at  all.  It  is  simply 
society  protecting  itself.  Hence  a  perplexing 
and   uncertain   problem  is   thereby   removed. 

1  "The  Survival  of   the   Unfit,"   Popular  Science  Monthly, 
June,  1892. 


Selective  Breeding  45 

Legislation  in  Ohio  adjudges  a  person  an  habit- 
ual criminal  when  convicted  of  a  third  offense, 
under  which  conviction  he  may  be  held  for  life. 
This  law  is  based  upon  sound  physiology  and 
psychology.  Such  a  quarantine  should  be 
applied  to  all  tramps,  cranks  and  generally 
worthless  beings.  Society  must  do  this  for  pro- 
tection, not  punishment;  to  avoid  their  con- 
tamination; and,  above  all,  to  prevent  the  pro- 
pagation of  their  kind.  Advanced  sociology 
will  devote  its  principal  energy  to  preventing 
the  reproduction  of  the  unfit,  and,  if  any  are 
produced,  by  proper  isolation  see  to  it  that 
they  do  not  survive  beyond  one  generation. 
Here  lies  the  only  solution  of  a  very  difficult 
problem, — first,  tiy  prevention;  next,  perma- 
nent isolation. 

Finally,  it  is  certain  that  the  responsibility  of 
bringing  children  into  the  world  is  usually  not 
taken  seriously  enough.  To  produce  offspring 
handicapped  by  diseased  tendencies  or  without' 
the  ability  to  give  them  proper  nutrition  or 
training  is  really  race  suicide  that  we  hear  so 
often  condemned.  Among  1258  living  descend- 
ants of  Max  Jukes,  there  were  310  paupers. 


46     Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

600  feeble-minded,  and  over  300  prostitutes. 
If  simply  bringing  large  numbers  of  children 
into  the  world  is  admirable,  certain  social  and 
ecclesiastical  lawgivers  might  think  that  the 
older  Jukes,  reprobate  though  he  was,  did  his 
duty  by  the  State.  It  is  quality  not  quantity 
that  is  to  be  sought  in  children. 

If  parents  cannot  properly  raise  large 
families,  they  should  not  be  encouraged  to  pro- 
duce them.  It  is  actually  found  that  the  poorest 
and  frequently  the  least  desirable  elements  in 
the  population  are  apt  to  have  the  largest  num- 
ber of  children,  for  which  they  frequently 
receive  undeserved  praise.  I  once  made  a 
study  of  the  size  of  families  in  connection  with 
1000  children  who  came  under  my  hospital  care 
in  the  lower  East  Side  of  New  York.  There 
were  557  large  families  (more  than  five  mem- 
bers) and  443  small  families  (less  than  five  mem- 
bers) on  the  list.  An  interesting  point  was  that 
the  families  earning  the  higher  wages  were 
small;  while  the  large  families  were 
almost  invariably  in  the  low-wage  class.  In  the 
latter,  the  income  was  always  insufficient  to 


Selective  Breeding  47 

maintain  a  proper  standard  of  living.  This 
will  be  of  interest  to  the  advocates  of  birth  con- 
trol, and  certainly,  as  far  as  the  married  among 
the  very  poor  are  concerned,  there  is  much  to 
be  said  in  its  favor.  There  is  nothing  admira- 
ble in  bringing  forth  children  who  are  born  to 
suffering  and  only  destined  to  fill  our  hospitals 
and  asylums,  whose  emaciated  little  bodies 
soon  find  fortunate  rest  in  Potter's  field.  This 
is  not  so  much  race  suicide  as  race  homicide. 


CHAPTER  V 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  LIFE 


An  independent  life  starts  by  the  union  of  the 
sperm  cell  and  ovum.  The  greatest  miracle  of 
nature  has  now  taken  place, — conception.  It 
has  been  well  said  that  at  the  instant  of  concep- 
tion the  gates  of  heredity  are  closed. 

It  is  wonderful  to  think  that  by  a  combination 
of  two  tiny  cells  a  life  may  be  inaugurated  that 
can  develop  into  a  vigorous  adult.  When  we 
see  a  grown  child  bearing  a  striking  physical 
resemblance  to  one  or  both  parents  it  is  hard 
to  realize  that  this  resemblance  had  its  origin 
in  two  minute  germ  cells  through  which  have 
passed  the  stream  of  heredity. 

The  male  cell  is  microscopic,  the  relation  in 
size  being  about  as  100,000  to  1  in  comparison 
to  the  ovum.  Yet  this  spermatozoan,  micro- 
scopic as  it  is,  yields  abundant  energy  and  starts 
life  in  the  ovum  which  contains  the  material  to 

48 


The  Beginning  of  Life  49 

nourish  the  beginning  existence.  Dr.  Charles 
Mercier  ^  aptly  puts  it  thus, — '^My  hypothesis 
is  that  the  contributions  of  these  two  elements 
(sperm  cell  and  germ  cell)  to  the  product  differ 
in  this  way :  the  female  element  contributes  the 
Bubstance  or  matter  of  the  offspring;  the  male 
element  contributes  the  force  or  energy  that 
animates  the  matter.  The  female  element  is 
the  coals  in  the  grate ;  the  male  element  is  the 
match  that  sets  them  alight." 

After  conception,  a  series  of  marvelous 
changes  rapidly  takes  place.  From  the  first 
dawn  of  life  to  full  development,  there  is  con- 
stantly going  on  a  remarkable  series  of  rapid 
evolutions  that  are  not  only  fraught  with  the 
greatest  interest  but  accompanied  by  the  largest 
possibilities. 

In  the  course  of  development  before  birth,  the 
human  embryo  passes  through  different  stages 
of  resemblance  to  a  similar  period  of  evolution 
in  the  lower  animals.  In  various  earlier  stages, 
the  human  embryo  can  hardly  be  distinguished 
from  the  embryonic  fish,  reptile,  and  the  lower 

T- Lancet,  November  8,  1913. 


50     Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

and  higher  mammals.  The  human  embryo, 
however,  rapidly  passes  through  these  lower 
stages,  accomplishing  in  a  few  hours  or  days 
a  development  that  required  innumerable  ages 
for  the  lower  forms  of  life  and  which  rep- 
resented their  completed  life  achievement. 
The  whole  natural  history  of  life  is  thus 
sketched  and  molded  in  a  growing  human  fetus, 
each  step  in  advance  being  duly  chronicled  by 
a  higher  stage  of  evolution,  the  pedigree  of  one 
form  going  back  to  simpler  previous  forms. 
As  geology  can  trace  back  the  earlier  physical 
conditions  of  the  earth  by  examining  various 
strata  on  the  surface,  so  the  biologist  by  study- 
ing different  stages  of  growi;h  in  the  human 
embryo  can  see  traces  of  numberless  lower 
forms  of  life  that  have  long  since  vanished, 
each,  however,  making  its  humble  contribution 
to  the  ascending  scale.  All  these  phantom 
lives  have  had  their  share,  infinitesimal  though 
it  be,  in  forming  the  acme  of  animal  life, — the 
human  embryo. 

As  growth  progresses,  the  immature  human 
being  rapidly  advances  from  these  lower  forms, 


The  Beginning  of  Life         51 

however,  until  at  birth  all  resemblance  to  the 
lower  stages  of  life  ceases  and  the  infant  gives 
evidence  of  the  highest  possibilities.  These 
phenomena  show  the  human  infant  to  be  the 
microcosm  or  summing  up  of  all  created  life. 
Even  at  birth  the  infant  is  not  a  completely- 
formed  human  being,  but  from  this  time  on  the 
difference  from  the  lower  forms  of  life  becomes 
most  startling. 

After  nine  months  of  intra-uterine  life  the 
infant  is  sufficiently  developed  to  branch  forth 
in  an  independent  existence.  During  this 
period,  however,  the  mother  is  a  trustee  not 
only  of  her  own  health  but  of  the  well-being 
and  development  of  the  rapidly  forming  infant. 

Pre-Natal  Care 

Constant  oversight  should  be  exercised  over 
the  pregnant  woman,  not  only  on  her  own  ac- 
count but  in  the  interest  of  the  unborn  child. 
Control  of  the  pre-natal  period  has  proven  to 
be  a  most  important  factor  in  reducing  infant 
morbidity  and  mortality.  Owing  to  a  lack  of 
skilled  supervision,  maternal  deaths  and  deaths 


52     Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

of  infants  from  maternal  causes  have  not  de- 
creased in  proportion  to  the  lessened  death 
rate  of  later  infancy.  The  Children's  Bureau 
of  Washington  reports  that  in  a  study  of  rural 
areas  of  six  different  states,  80  per  cent,  of 
the  mothers  had  received  no  trained  oversight 
during  pregnancy.  The  witty  aphorism  of  Dr. 
Holmes  that  the  proper  time  to  begin  the  treat- 
ment of  many  diseases  is  one  hundred  years 
before  birth  might  be  paraphrased  into  the  idea 
that  an  available  per,iod  of  nine  months  can  be 
utilized  in  trying  to  produce  a  healthy  infant. 
Of  deaths  occurring  under  one  year,  over  40  per 
cent,  are  due  to  unfavorable  congenital  condi- 
tions. Of  all  deaths  during  the  first  month  of 
life,  80  per  cent,  are  due  to  causes  associated 
with  prematurity  or  congenital  diseases,  de- 
formities or  malformations.  Thus  among  all 
babies  dying  under  one  year,  over  one-third 
die  before  they  are  one  month  old.  Most  of 
these  babies  die  because  they  are  too  feeble  or 
sickly  to  survive,  and  this  in  turn  may  be 
caused  by  improper  oversight  of  the  mother. 
It  is  especially  during  the  latter  months  of 


The  Beginning  of  Life         53 

pregnancy  that  extra  care  must  be  observed. 
Every  woman  is  entitled  to  adequate  super- 
vision up  to  the  time  of  the  birth  of  her  child 
as  well  as  during  and  after  its  birth.  The  life 
that  comes  before  birth  must  have  about  as 
much  attention  as  the  life  that  follows  birth. 
Not  only  for  the  sake  of  the  child,  but  a  need- 
lessly large  mortality  on  the  part  of  the  mother 
may  thus  be  avoided. 

The  importance  of  this  subject  is  now  being 
recognized  and  prenatal  clinics  are  being  con- 
ducted by  departments  of  health  to  look  after 
those  who  cannot  afford  private  advice.  Ma- 
ternal welfare  centres,  under  private  manage- 
ment, are  also  being  conducted  with  excellent 
results.  Every  woman  who  can  afford  a  regu- 
lar attending  physician  should  be  under  his  con- 
stant care  during  all  of  this  period,  instead  of 
waiting  until  the  time  of  labor  is  approaching. 
The  importance  of  proper  regulation  at  this 
time  will  be  appreciated  when  we  consider  an 
estimate  that  20,000  maternal  deaths  due  to 
child  birth  and  200,000  deaths  of  infants 
occurred   during  1920  in  the   United   States. 


54     Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

Outside  of  the  stated  examinations  of  various 
kinds,  a  quiet,  hygienic  life  is  most  desirable. 
In  general,  the  mother  should  maintain  herself 
in  as  good  a  condition  of  health  as  possible 
while  she  is  carrying  the  child.  All  the  func- 
tions of  her  body  must  be  satisfactorily  per- 
formed. No  social  or  household  duties  must  be 
allowed  to  interfere  with  this  principal  business 
of  her  life. 

At  this  period  it  is  well  for  her  to  thoroughly 
systematize  her  life  so  that  the  best  results 
will  be  obtained.  Plenty  of  pure,  fresh  air  is 
essential.  Her  living  and  sleeping  rooms  must 
be  well  ventilated  and  she  should  take  the  outer 
air  in  daily  walks  or  drives,  or  by  sitting  much 
on  the  piazza  during  warm  weather.  Regular 
exercise  is  very  beneficial,  but  nothing  severe 
or  jolting  should  be  allowed.  Plenty  of  rest 
and  sleep  is  desirable.  The  night 's  sleep  should 
include  at  least  eight  hours  and  more  if  desired. 
It  is  also  well  to  lie  down  and  rest  for  a  season 
in  the  middle  of  the  day. 

The  clothing  must  be  comfortable  and  loose- 
fitting,  especially  avoiding  any  undue  pressure 


The  Beginning  of  Life         55 

upon  the  chest  or  abdomen.  Clothing  that  is 
so  arranged  as  to  be  suspended  largely  from 
the  shoulders  is  well  adapted  for  this  period. 
Shoes  with  low  heels  should  be  worn,  as  the 
high  heels  in  vogue  put  an  undue  strain  upon 
the  spine  and  lower  abdomen. 

There  is  no  scientific  proof  that  special  forms 
of  diet  have  any  influence  upon  the  development 
of  the  child,  but  the  food  should  be  nourishing 
and  digestible.  The  free  drinking  of  pure  water 
between  meals  and  at  bedtime  is  beneficial  by 
keeping  the  kidneys  in  good  working  order. 
The  bowels  must  act  once  daily  at  regular  time. 

Special  care  should  be  given  to  the  breasts 
and  nipples.  Breast  feeding  after  birth  often 
fails  from  lack  of  early  attention.  Tender  nip- 
ples that  soon  become  cracked  or  sore,  or  de- 
pressed nipples  that  cannot  be  grasped  by  the 
infant,  often  result  in  nursing  failures.  We 
must  always  remember  that  the  loss  of  breast 
feeding  is  an  important  cause  of  infant  mor- 
tality. By  gentle  massage  of  the  nipples  dur- 
ing the  last  few  months  of  pregnancy,  perhaps 
with  cocoa-butter  or  vaseline,  and  by  using 


56     Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

weak  alcohol  solutions  if  necessary  to  toughen 
the  tender  skin,  we  can  do  much  to  enable  the 
nipple  to  function  well  when  the  time  comes. 

The  influence  the  mind  exerts  on  the  body  is 
recogTiized  by  all  physicians,  and  therefore  it 
is  well  that  the  future  mother  should  keep  as 
cheerful  and  composed  as  possible.  To  this  end, 
she  should  be  kept  from  undue  cares  and  wor- 
ries and  have  as  bright  surroundings  as  cir- 
cumstances will  allow.  Strong  mental  excite- 
ment and  unrepressed  emotions  have  a  bad 
effect  at  this  time.  It  is  right  to  add,  however, 
that  the  bugbear  of  ''maternal  impressions" 
producing  some  subtle  and  disastrous  influence 
on  the  unborn  infant  has  no  scientific  basis. 

In  a  general  way,  the  care  of  the  future  child 
is  taking  place  during  the  whole  of  the  previous 
life  of  the  mother,  but  in  a  very  special  way  is 
such  care  obvious  while  she  is  carrying  the  baby. 
The  problem  of  the  child  begins  with  concep- 
tion and  ends  with  adolescence  and  of  all  these 
periods  that  of  pregnancy  is  one  of  the  most 
neglected. 

Modem  asepsis  has  robbed  child  birth  of 


The  Beginning  of  Life         57 

much  of  its  dangers  for  the  mother,  but  still 
the  greatest  care  must  be  exercised  at  this  time. 
Danger  to  the  child  often  results  from  too  great 
a  prolongation  of  labor.  As  a  consequence  of 
long  pressure,  a  rupture  of  some  of  the  delicate 
blood  vessels  on  the  surface  of  the  brain  may 
ensue  and  the  child  thereby  be  handicapped 
for  life.  Holmes  once  described  the  female  pel- 
vis as  the  triumphal  arch  through  which  the 
new-born  infant  first  passed  to  greet  the  world. 
If  this  arch  is  too  narrow  for  comfortable  exit, 
it  may  require  some  skilful  surgery  to  deliver 
the  child  intact. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  DEVELOPING  PERIOD 

The  practical  problem  of  evolution  consists  in 
regulating  biological  heredity  as  far  as  possible 
and  then  in  trying  to  produce  conditions  that 
will  enable  social  heredity  to  act  to  the  best  ad- 
vantage. 

This  must  start  with  an  inquiry  as  to  the 
usual  physical  and  mental  characteristics  that 
go  with  a  good  heredity,  biological  or  social,  or 
both.  In  other  words,  what  may  be  considered 
an  average  normal  condition  for  the  infant 
and  growing  child?  In  this  way  we  may  de- 
termine, at  least,  whether  a  favorable  social 
heredity  is  present  in  each  case.  We  cannot 
alter  biological  heredity,  but  we  can  and  should 
aim  to  correct  a  faulty  social  heredity  if  such 
exists.  The  latter  may  be  shown  by  physical 
or  mental  under-development. 

S8 


The  Developing  Period         59 

Growth  During  Infancy 

The  infant  should  start  life  with  rapid 
growth.  During  the  first  year  there  is  a  greater 
proportional  growth  to  initial  size  than  at  any 
other  time  of  life.  This  is  due  to  an  extremely 
rapid  proliferation  of  body  cells  and  not  to 
cell  enlargement  that  comes  after  two  or  three 
years.  Any  condition  that  interferes  with 
growth,  such  as  an  insufficient  diet  or  intercur- 
rent illness,  should  be  averted  by  all  the  care 
that  can  be  rendered.  It  has  been  observed  that 
colds,  bronchitis,  ear  trouble,  indigestion  or 
constipation  will  inhibit  growth  when  these  con- 
ditions last  for  two  or  three  weeks. 

It  is  important  to  have  a  record  of  the  birth 
weight  in  every  case.  The  male  infant  usually 
weighs  a  little  more  than  the  female.  In  a 
series  of  200  cases  that  I  examined,  the  males 
weighed  from  six  to  eight  pounds,  and  the  fe- 
males from  five  and  a  half  to  seven  pounds. 
As  many  of  these  infants  were  bom  in  institu- 
tions, the  averages  of  light  weight  were  fairly 
large.  Seven  pounds  may  be  considered  a  good 
average  birth  weight,  although  this  may  be 


6o     Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

exceeded  by  vigorous  infants.  As  far  as  initial 
weight  may  be  considered  a  gauge  of  vitality, 
six  and  a  half  pounds  will  show  a  good  vitality, 
five  and  a  half  pounds  a  rather  poor  one,  and 
from  four  to  five  pounds  a  very  poor  vitality  at 
the  start. 

Some  infants  are  bom  with  small  bones,  per- 
haps in  this  respect  resembling  one  or  both 
parents.  The  birth  weight  of  such  an  infant, 
as  well  as  that  attained  later,  will  be  less  than 
that  of  a  baby  having  a  larger  bony  framework. 
Different  races,  as  well  as  families,  show  con- 
siderable variation  in  this  respect.  Needless 
alarm  is  sometimes  excited  if  the  physician  or 
mother  merely  consider  averages  that  are  taken 
from  a  different  class  or  community  and  hence 
do  not  particularly  apply  to  the  baby  under  con- 
sideration. This  fact  may  be  considered  in  con- 
nection with  relative  weights  and  heights  at  all 
ages.  In  every  case,  the  extremely  rapid 
growth  of  the  infant  after  birth  makes  careful 
observation  of  all  the  phenomena  connected 
therewith  not  only  interesting  but  important. 

During  the  first  few  days  there  is  generally  a 


The  Developing  Period         6i 

loss  of  from  four  to  six  oimces,  after  which  there 
should  be  a  steady  gain.  It  must  be  remem- 
bered, however,  that  babies  are  apt  to  gain 
irregularly  at  short  intervals.  One  day  the 
infant  may  show  a  gain  of  an  ounce  and  the  next 
day  a  quarter  of  that  amount  while  doing  per- 
fectly well.  Again,  the  weight  may  remain  sta- 
tionary for  a  day  or  so  and  then  jump  up  two 
ounces  in  twenty-four  hours.  There  should  at 
least  be  an  average  weekly  gain  during  the  first 
five  months  of  about  four  and  a  half  ounces 
to  seven  ounces,  and  from  five  to  twelve  months 
of  about  two  and  a  half  to  four  and  a  half 
ounces. 

The  infant  should  double  its  birth  weight  at 
five  or  six  months,  and  treble  it  at  twelve  to 
fifteen  months.  The  weighing  should  be  done 
by  the  same  person  either  on  grocer's  scales 
or  lever  scales  specially  constructed  for  infants. 
Daily  weighings  are  often  deceptive  and  unde- 
sirable. During  the  first  six  months  once  a 
week  is  sufficient,  and  in  the  second  six  months 
once  in  two  weeks  is  often  enough  in  cases  that 
are  doing  well.    Careful  records  should  be  kept, 


62     Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

and    charting    is    convenient    for    reference. 

The  length  of  the  new-bom  baby  is  slightly 
greater  in  the  male  than  in  the  female.  In 
private  practice,  with  healthy  parents,  the 
length  will  average  about  twenty  inches. 
Growth  in  length  is  most  rapid  during  the  first 
month,  a  little  less  so  during  the  second  month, 
and  rapidly  decreases  during  each  succeeding 
month.  During  the  first  year  there  is  a  growth 
in  length  of  about  eight  inches,  and  in  the 
second  year  of  about  three  and  a  half  inches. 

Just  after  birth,  the  trunk,  arms,  legs  and 
head  have  peculiar  conformations.  The  body 
is  of  an  elliptical  shape,  with  the  widest  part  at 
about  the  centre  over  the  liver,  in  the  region  of 
the  lower  ribs.  The  two  ends  of  the  ellipse, 
represented  by  the  chest  and  pelvis,  are  rela- 
tively small  and  not  well  developed.  The  arms 
are  stronger  and  better  developed  than  the  legs. 
During  intra-uterine  life  the  baby  is  placed  in  a 
sort  of  squatting  position  with  the  legs  drawn 
up  and  curled  inward.  This  explains  why  the 
legs  of  the  young  infant  are  not  straight  but 
show  a  decided  bomng  inward.     The  soles  of 


The  Developing  Period         63 

the  feet  also  tend  to  point  inward.  The  head 
is  larger  than  the  chest  at  this  time,  with  a  very 
short  neck,  and  the  baby  assumes  a  position  of 
general  flexion. 

While  infants  at  birth  may  vary  in  size,  each 
individual  should  develop  in  proper  proportion, 
the  various  parts  of  the  body  bearing  a  sym- 
metrical relationship  to  one  another.  Thus 
the  circumference  of  the  head  is  greater  than  the 
circumference  of  the  chest,  and  remains  so  up 
to  the  middle  of  the  first  year,  when  they  begin 
to  approximate  in  size.  At  the  end  of  the  first 
year,  the  chest  should  expand  to  a  greater  cir- 
cumference than  the  head.  If  later  than  this 
time  the  circumference  of  the  head  remains 
greater  than  that  of  the  chest,  it  is  an  indica- 
tion of  faulty  development.  The  sutures  of  the 
skull  should  be  ossified  by  the  end  of  the  sixth 
month,  and  the  opening  in  the  head  known  as  the 
anterior  fontanelle  closes  from  the  sixteenth  to 
the  eighteenth  month.  Any  deformities  of  the 
head  due  to  prolonged  pressure  and  difficult 
labors  are  usually  overcome  during  the  first  few 
weeks.    After  birth  and  with  increase  in  age. 


64     Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

there  is  noted  a  gradual  and  steady  enlargement 
of  the  great  circumference  of  the  skull,  and, 
from  this,  of  its  estimated  volume.  Although 
no  intellectual  growth  can  be  said  to  take  place 
under  two  years,  there  should  be  an  active  evolu- 
tion of  the  front  of  the  brain  with  increase  of 
the  perceptions.  The  first  rapid  growth  of  the 
brain  after  birth  is  more  in  bulk  than  in  the  size 
and  complexity  of  its  convolutions.  Hence  in 
early  infancy  the  higher  centres  have  but  a 
slight  development  and  function.  With  proper 
evolution,  the  convolutions  grow  and  become 
arranged  in  functional  groups,  which  groups, 
by  their  development,  alter  and  modify  the 
shape  of  the  infantile  skull.  If  the  skull  is  small 
or  improperly  shaped  in  any  part,  the  brain  in 
such  area  is  imperfectly  developing.  A  certain 
amount  of  asymmetry  is,  however,  found  in  all 
skulls  as  in  other  structures  of  the  body  and, 
unless  very  marked,  has  no  great  significance. 

The  principle  of  biology  that  the  develop- 
ment of  the  individual  reproduces  on  a  small 
scale  the  development  of  the  race  is  well  shown 
in  the  infant's  brain.     The  higher  centres  and 


The  Developing  Period         65 

the  association  fibres  are  developed  late  in  the 
child ;  they  are  likewise  the  latest  acquirements 
of  the  race.  The  lower  and  more  fundamental 
animal  traits  are  transmitted  by  inheritance  in 
greater  degree  than  the  higher  ones. 

In  the  human  being,  the  brain  assumes  over- 
mastering importance  in  the  scheme  of  evolu- 
tion, hence  its  proper  growth  and  development 
are  relatively  of  much  more  importance  than 
that  of  other  parts  of  the  body.  The  extremely 
rapid  evolution  of  the  brain  during  infancy, 
and  the  fact  that  the  future  efficiency  and  well- 
being  of  the  child  depend  largely  upon  its  nor- 
mal and  healthy  gro^vth  renders  the  study  of 
the  infantile  head  of  great  interest.  As  the 
skull  is  fairly  representative  of  the  brain  dur- 
ing the  years  of  its  first  development,  measure- 
ments taken  during  infancy  are  more  instruc- 
tive as  to  brain  size  and  evolution  than  those 
taken  in  later  years.  The  skull  changes  con- 
siderably in  its  proportions  during  the  first 
years  of  life,  and  then  more  slowly  up  to  the 
end  of  the  seventh  year  when  it  has  very  nearly 
attained  its  full  size.    At  birth,  the  circumfer- 


66     Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

ence  of  the  head  averages  from  thirteen  to  four- 
teen inches ;  at  the  end  of  the  second  year,  about 
eighteen  inches;  at  the  seventh  year,  about 
twenty  and  a  half  inches,  and  at  the  completion 
of  growth  twenty-two  or  more  inches. 

The  spinal  column  is  curved  but  very  flexi- 
ble. In  early  infancy,  the  so-called  normal 
curves  are  not  developed  above  the  pelvis  but 
there  is  one  long  curve  in  the  shape  of  a  general 
convexity.  As  the  child  grows  older,  the  spine 
becomes  less  flexible  and  more  rigid  with  in- 
creased power  in  the  spinal  muscles.  There  is, 
however,  much  more  flexibility  all  through  early 
life  than  obtains  in  later  years. 

In  the  musculature,  the  gi*eatest  relative 
strength  is  shown  in  the  hands  and  arms  for  a 
time  after  birth.  At  about  three  months,  the 
muscles  of  the  neck  have  developed  sufficiently 
to  allow  the  infant  to  hold  up  its  head  in  an  un- 
certain way.  At  the  seventh  or  eighth  months, 
the  muscles  of  the  back  have  become  strength- 
ened so  that  the  baby  can  sit  up,  and  shortly 
after  this  it  may  be  allowed  to  creep.  Free  play 
should  be  sdven  to  the  muscles  of  the  arms  and 


The  Developing  Period         67 

legs  from  the  first,  as  muscular  and  bony  de- 
velopment are  thereby  encouraged.  The  bones 
of  the  leg  thus  grow  and  straighten  out,  but  this 
will  be  checked  if  the  infant  is  allowed  to  sus- 
tain the  weight  of  the  body  too  soon.  The 
average  baby  should  not  be  allowed  to  stand 
before  the  twelfth  month.  Efforts  to  walk  may 
be  encouraged  from  then  on  to  the  fifteenth  or 
sixteenth  months.  When  walking  has  been  es- 
tablished, the  legs  should  be  straight. 

The  process  of  dentition  begins  early  in  intra- 
uterine life.  The  cutting  of  the  temporary  or 
milk  teeth  usually  begins  about  the  sixth  or 
seventh  month  and  should  be  completed  at  the 
end  of  infancy. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  a  healthy  infant 
will  always  grow  both  in  height  and  weight. 
While  increase  in  weight  is  properly  regarded 
as  evidence  of  good  development,  it  is  possible 
that  relatively  too  much  starch  or  sugar  in  the 
diet  may  produce  fat  at  the  expense  of  bone, 
muscle  and  gland.  Firmness  of  tissues  and 
proper  growth  of  the  long  bones  must  thus  be 
considered  in  connection  with  increase  in  weight. 


68     Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

Height  and  Weight  of  WIhite  Infants 


White 

Boys 

White  Girls 

Height 

Weight 

Height 

Weight 

Age 

( inches ) 

(pounds) 

(inches) 

(pounds) 

Under   1   month. 

...    2iy8 

9y8 

2078 

8% 

3  months    

. . .    241/2 

14% 

24 

13 

6  months    

...      26% 

17% 

26% 

16% 

9  months    

...      2S14 

19% 

27% 

181/2 

12  months    

...      291/3 

21% 

287/8 

20 

15  months    

. . .     30% 

22% 

30% 

21% 

18  months    

...      31% 

24  Vs 

31% 

22% 

21   months   

...      32% 

251/2 

321/4 

24% 

24  months    ...    . 

...      335/8 

26% 

33% 

25% 

These  figures  are  based  on  measurements  of 
a  very  large  number  of  infants  in  whom  no 
serious  defects  were  reported,  collected  by  the 
Federal  Children's  Bureau.^  They  closely 
agree  with  measurements  of  3448  normal  babies 
in  23  states  prepared  by  Mr.  F.  S.  Crum  for  the 
American  Medical  Association. 


Conserving  Infant  Life 

In  working  for  infants  we  will  be  enabled  to 
get  an  important  side  light  on  general  social  con- 
ditions. The  infant  and  little  child  have  always 
offered  the  best  approach  to  a  study  of  both 
medical  and  social  problems.     They  connect  di- 

lU.  S.  Department  of  Labor^  Children's  Bureau.    No.  84. 


The  Developing  Period         69 

rectly  with  all  lines  of  social  inquiry, — hous- 
ing, food,  parenthood,  the  wage  problem, 
faulty  hygiene  in  tenement  or  town,  educa- 
tion and  every  other  factor  in  community 
life. 

One  of  the  most  fruitful  social  movements  of 
the  day  is  thus  connected  with  the  saving  and 
conserving  of  infant  life.  There  has  been  a 
marked  lessening  both  in  morbidity  and  mor- 
tality of  infants  as  the  result  of  these  efforts. 
Thus  in  New  York  City  there  has  been  a  reduc- 
tion in  the  infant  mortality  rate  from  273.6  per 
1000  children  bom  in  1885  to  81.6  in  1919,  and 
71.1  in  1921.  This  decline  has  been  aided  by 
such  factors  as  more  breast  feeding,  baby 
health  station  service,  careful  oversight  of 
cows'  milk,  visiting  nurses,  improvement  in 
municipal  sanitation  and  better  control  over 
conunmiicable  disease.  A  lower  death  rate  al- 
ways predicates  less  sickness  and  more  vigorous 
vitality  in  the  infants  who  live.  "While  deaths 
among  older  babies  have  decreased,  the  number 
of  infant  deaths  during  the  first  month  has  not 
lessened,  but  at  times  has  even  increased,  which 
shows  that  the  prenatal  and  natal  periods  have 


70     Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

not  been  equally  watched.    The  reason  that  five 
times  as  many  babies  die  in  the  first  month  as 


Bibr  DcAtb-ratc*  per  t.OOO  Accordtag  to  Fatlut't 
Wages.    CombliMd  Figures  for  Bight  Qtla. 


170 
160 
150 
140 
130 
120 
UO 
100 
90 
80 
70 
60 

0 


Under  $450 


M50toS549 


S550  to  S649 
650  to  $849 

1850  to  $1049 
$1050to$1249 

;1250  &  over 


As    Wages   Decrease   the   Baby 
Death-rale  Rises. 


in  the  second,  and  fourteen  times  as  many  as  in 
the  twelfth,  is  that  parents  are  unhealthy  or  the 


The  Developing  Period        71 

mothers  were  not  given  proper  oversight  and 
care  during  pregnancy.  This  early  mortality 
can  be  much  reduced  by  instructing  the  mother 
how  to  stimulate  breast  feeding  during  the  first 
months  after  birth,  and  by  better  methods  of 
hygiene  and  artificial  feeding. 

Infants  and  little  children  are  always  the  most 
sensitive  to  bad  environment.  They  are  like- 
wise the  first  to  suffer  from  poor  economic  con- 
ditions. The  Federal  Children's  Bureau  has 
shown  graphically  how  the  infant  death  rate 
goes  up  as  wages  go  down. 

In  a  study  of  3700  cases  of  serious  illness  in 
infants  and  little  children  treated  in  the  hospital 
in  a  long  series  of  years,  I  ^  found  the  causes 
along  three  broad  lines, — insufficient  earnings, 
bad  housing  and  ignorance  of  the  parents.  Pov- 
erty and  sickness  too  often  go  hand  in  hand. 
The  Charity  Organization  Society  has  found 
that  fully  two-thirds  of  the  cases  of  poverty 
it  is  called  on  to  investigate  depend,  directly  or 
indirectly,  on  sickness.     There  is  a  shifting  and 

1  "The  Relation  Between  the  Child  and  Hospital  Social 
Service" — Jou/rnal  of  the  American  Medical  Association, 
July  23,  1921. 


72     Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

alternating  relationship  of  cause  and  effect 
between  them.  It  is  interesting  to  note  how  this 
vicious  circle  works  at  different  ages.  Thus, 
while  in  adult  years,  sickness  is  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal causes  of  poverty,  in  childhood  poverty  is 
one  of  the  principal  causes  of  sickness. 

It  is  evident  that  infant  salvage  is  closely  in- 
ter-related with  economic  and  social  conditions. 
To  save  the  baby  and  conserve  the  beginning 
life  we  may  have  to  go  far  afield  in  a  study 
of  life  conditions.  About  300,000  babies  under 
one  year  die  every  year  in  this  country.  There 
is  still  much  to  be  done.  Putting  it  in  another 
way,  it  has  been  estimated  that  in  the  United 
States  twelve  babies  out  of  every  hundred,  under 
the  age  of  twelve  months,  die  every  year.  In 
the  great  "World  War  less  than  two  men  out  of 
every  hundred  were  killed  in  battle.  During 
this  time,  accordingly,  a  soldier  in  the  trenches 
was  six  times  as  safe  as  the  baby  in  the  slums. 
This  shows  that  social  heredity, — in  other  words 
environment, — has  yet  much  to  do  in  conserving 
infant  life.    A  most  beneficial  and  far-reaching 


The  Developing  Period         73 

element  in  this  work  is  that  general  social 
amelioration  must  both  accompany  and  follow 
these  efforts.  The  baby  may  yet  lead  the  way 
in  social  reconstruction. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  PRE-SCHOOL  AGE 

In  a  study  of  the  developing  period  of  life, 
two  gaps  have  occurred  in  which  sufiScient  over- 
sight has  not  been  given.  Attention  has  already 
been  directed  to  the  first  of  these  periods, — 
the  time  before  birth.  The  second  compara- 
tively neglected  period  is  the  pre-school  age, 
— from  two  to  six  years.  Boards  of  health  and 
welfare  stations  have  concentrated  on  the  in- 
fant with  a  result  of  lowering  infant  morbidity 
and  mortality;  school  physicians  and  nurses 
have  given  oversight  to  older  children,  but  the 
pre-school  child  has  fallen  between  these  two 
periods.  Even  well-to-do  people,  who  do  not 
depend  on  public  agencies  for  medical  over- 
sight, are  apt  to  give  too  little  attention  to  the 
child  before  entrance  into  school.  The  baby  is 
so  helpless  that  constant  advice  is  sought,  and 
now  most  private  as  well  as  public  schools  have 

74 


The  Pre-School  Age  75 

physicians  who  exercise  some  oversight  over 
child  development,  but  the  little  run-about  is 
too  often  left  to  his  own  devices. 

This  is  a  most  unfortunate  state  of  affairs, 
because  we  are  here  dealing  with  a  most  impor- 
tant age.  During  infancy  growth  is  steady  and 
rapid,  but  in  childhood  it  is  relatively  slower 
and  takes  place  more  in  cycles.  It  depends  very 
largely  upon  good  heredity  and  a  healthy,  well 
nourished  state  during  the  first  years  of  life. 
Biological  researches  show  that  favorable  em- 
bryonic conditions  and  good  nutrition  during  the 
earliest  years  have  the  greatest  influence  in  de- 
termining the  full  height  and  development  of 
the  individual.  If  a  child  is  fortunate  in  its 
birth  and  is  well  nourished  up  to  the  fifth 
or  sixth  years,  there  will  probably  be  a  healthy 
growth  thereafter,  as,  even  if  there  are  poor 
conditions  later  on,  nature  will  probably  be 
able  to  compensate  and  make  up  for  them. 
Each  person  has  a  certain  normal  size  to  attain, 
which  will  usually  be  reached  if  the  first  years 
have  been  favorable.  Nothing  will  completely 
make  up,  however,  for  early  unfavorable  con- 
ditions. 


76     Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

The  following  table  that  I  have  prepared 
from  data  collected  by  the  Federal  Children's 
Bureau  will  give  some  idea  of  the  development 
that  was  found  among  a  large  number  of  Ameri- 
can children  from  two  to  six  years  of  age. 

Height  and  Weight  of  White  Cheldren   (2  to  6  Yeabs)' 

White  Boys  White  Girls 

Height       Weight       Height        Weight 
Age  (inches)      (pounds)     (inches)      (pounds) 

25  months 33%  27  S3%  251/3 

3  years   36%  30%  36^4  291/2 

4  years   39%  341/2  38%  33% 

5  years   41%  38%  n%  36% 

6  years   43%  415/g  43%  401/2 

In  a  study  of  nearly  40,000  children  of  pre- 
school age  in  Iowa,  it  was  found  that  the  boys 
from  birth  to  six  years  were  uniformly  taller 
and  heavier  at  all  ages  than  the  girls.  It  was 
also  noted  that  the  percents  of  total  stature 
and  weight  at  six  years  showed  that  the  height 
doubled  in  these  cases  during  the  first  six  years 
after  birth  and  the  weight  increased  four  times. 
The  rural  Iowa  children  were  above  the  urban 
ones  in  stature  and  weight  from  birth  to  six 
years. 


The  Pre-School  Age  77 

The  years  of  the  pre-school  age,  before  six, 
represent  a  critical  time  in  reference  to  future 
development.  The  frequent  magnitude  of  the 
problem  may  be  realized  when  we  consider  the 
estimate  that  there  are  about  half  a  million 
children  of  the  pre-school  age  in  New  York 
City.  These  children  should  all  be  carefully 
examined  twice  a  year  in  order  to  recognize 
any  condition  or  defect  that  can  usually  be  cor- 
rected at  the  start. 

It  is  now  believed  by  many  observers  that 
numerous  defects  and  degenerations  of  later 
life  have  their  real  origin  from  some  infection 
or  other  unfortunate  condition  during  the  first 
few  years.  For  example,  it  is  held  that  few 
adults  have  escaped  infection  by  the  tubercle 
bacillus,  but  the  disease  becomes  latent  and 
harmless  unless  a  diminished  resistance  has 
been  inherited  or  the  general  health  much  de- 
pressed. It  is  further  believed  that  the  original 
focus  of  infection  is  nearly  always  started  dur- 
ing the  early  years.  In  making  autopsies  on 
mal-nourished  children  in  the  hospital,  I  have 
nearly  always  found  some  tuberculous  focus 


78     Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

even  in  cases  of  death  from  other  causes.  The 
first  inception  of  this  insidious  malady  almost 
always  comes  at  the  beginning  of  life.  If  the 
general  vitality  is  conserved,  however,  nothing 
but  a  harmless  encapsulated  spot  will  usually 
remain,  but  at  the  same  time  every  effort  must 
be  made  to  keep  the  body  from  infection. 

Wliat  is  true  of  tuberculosis  is  true  of  all 
other  infections.  Measles  and  whooping-cough 
are  two  of  the  most  dangerous  diseases  of  this 
age  as  regards  ultimate  effects.  This  is  the 
most  susceptible  period  of  life  to  all  communi- 
cable disease.  Young  protoplasm  affords  a  vir- 
gin and  favorable  soil  for  the  growth  of  bac- 
teria and  the  spread  of  all  kinds  of  virus.  In 
this  respect,  the  pre-school  child  is  much  more 
susceptible  than  the  infant  or  the  older  child. 
One  of  the  common  diseases  of  early  life,  diph- 
theria, well  shows  this  peculiarity.  It  has  been 
found  that  over  90  per  cent,  of  newborn  infants 
are  immune  to  this  disease,  70  per  cent,  during 
the  first  year,  while  somewhat  over  half  fail  to 
contract  the  disease  on  exposure  later  in  child- 
hood.   Immunity  from  infection  of  most  kinds 


The  Pre-School  Age  79 

seems  to  be  conferred  upon  the  baby  by  inheri- 
tance from  its  mother,  and  this  lasts  for  vary- 
ing periods  but  not  long  after  infancy. 

Another  fact  to  be  considered  is  that  the  run- 
about is  naturally  more  exposed  from  moving 
around  and  possibly  coming  in  close  contact 
with  scarlet  fever,  measles,  whooping  cough, 
and  other  communicable  diseases.  While  these 
affections  may  not  kill,  they  frequently  leave 
sequelae  that  handicap  the  future  life  of  the  in- 
dividual. 

Other  common  conditions  that  frequently 
start  and  develop  during  this  period  of  life  are 
enlarged  and  diseased  tonsils,  adenoids  at  the 
vault  of  the  pharnyx  that  interfere  with  respira- 
tion, and  sluggishly  inflamed  lymph  glands  in 
various  parts  of  the  body. 

Beginning  caries  of  the  teeth  from  insuffi- 
cient care  may  also  have  serious  consequences. 
The  temporary  teeth  need  special  attention  not 
only  in  starting  proper  mastication,  but  because 
the  permanent  teeth  are  lodged  in  the  jaw 
just  above  them  and  the  latter  are  liable  to  be- 
come affected  by  disease  of  the  former.     Good 


8o     Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

digestion  is  dependent  on  good  teeth  and  various 
constitutional  affections  are  known  to  come  from 
disease  and  pus  pockets  about  the  roots  of  the 
teeth. 

The  various  gastro-intestinal  diseases,  from 
careless  feeding  and  poor  hygiene,  are  very 
common  with  the  little  child.  A  careful  over- 
sight of  the  infant's  bottle  too  oftqn  gives 
place  to  later  laxity  in  feeding.  The  selection 
and  administration  of  food  is  often  left  to  igno- 
rant servants  or  nurses.  As  a  result,  various 
forms  of  malnutrition  and  even  deficiency  dis- 
eases may  ensue.  Anemia,  mal-development, 
and  various  nerve  affections  are  apt  to  follow 
along  in  this  path. 

This  is  the  time  to  develop  a  correct  posture, 
and  the  child  must  be  taught  how  to  stand  and 
sit  erect,  as  such  habits  last  through  life.  Minor 
curvatures  of  the  spine,  which  is  very  supple, 
are  a  common  cause  of  poor  carriage  and  can 
easily  be  corrected  at  the  beginning. 

The  close  connection  between  the  pre-school 
child  and  the  oversight  that  must  come  in  the 
future  has  been  well  expressed  by  Dr.  Sobel  of 


The  Pre-School  Age  8l 

the  New  York  Board  of  Health,— '^  The  Bu- 
reau of  Child  Hygiene  has  always  felt  that  the 
best  time  to  take  care  of  the  child's  health  is 
before  he  enters  school,  and  that  preventive  and 
remedial  measures,  undertaken  at  this  time, 
would  do  much  toward  the  elimination  or  di- 
minution of  physical  defects,  and  place  him  in  a 
sound  physical  condition  upon  school  entrance, 
to  say  nothing  of  the  favorable  effect  upon  his 
growth  and  development  prior  to  school  age. 
In  fact,  the  Bureau  feels  that  proper  super- 
vision during  the  pre-school  age  bears  the  same 
relation  to  school  medical  inspection  that  proper 
pre-natal  instruction  and  supervision  bear  to 
infant  mortality.  Just  as  any  decided  reduc- 
tion in  infant  mortality  must  come  through  the 
reduction  of  deaths  from  congenital  diseases  and 
deaths  during  the  first  month  of  life,  through 
a  constructive  pre-natal  programme,  so  any 
material  reduction  in  the  percentage  of  physical 
defects  found  in  school  children,  and  a  better- 
ment of  their  general  well-being  must  come 
through  the  care  of  the  children  before  their 
entrance  into  school.'* 


CHAPTER  Vin 

THE  SCHOOL  CHHO 

The  child  of  school  age  enters  into  a  long 
period  which  should  be  one  of  healthy  growth. 
It  includes  the  time  from  six  years  to  and 
through  adolescence.  To  be  healthy,  a  child 
must  grow  both  in  height  and  weight,  but  this 
does  not  usually  take  place  in  a  steady  and 
uninterrupted  manner,  but  rather  in  cycles  that 
may  be  longer  or  shorter. 

The  two  principal  periods  of  acceleration  of 
growth  occur  during  the  second  dentition,  or 
when  the  permanent  teeth  begin  to  be  cut,  and 
at  the  beginning  of  adolescence.  This  roughly 
corresponds,  first,  with  the  period  from  six  to 
nine  years  in  boys  and  girls,  and,  second,  from 
eleven  to  thirteen  in  girls  and  from  fourteen 
to  sixteen  in  boys.  This  cycle  of  increase  in 
height  should  precede  and  soon  be  followed 
by  an  increase  in  weight.    In  boys  there  is  apt 

82 


The  School  Child  83 

to  be  a  slackening  in  growth  before  the  approach 
of  puberty,  usually  between  the  tenth  and 
eleventh  years.  Boys  grow  quicker  in  height 
than  girls  till  between  ten  and  eleven  years, 
when  girls  become  taller  until  about  fourteen 
at  which  time  boys  again  take  the  lead.  Girls 
gain  in  weight  up  to  ten  years  in  about  the  same 
ratio  as  boys,  but  they  then  are  apt  to  increase 
more  rapidly  than  boys  up  to  about  the  fifteenth 
year,  when  the  boys  attain  a  quicker  rate  and 
are  then  permanently  heavier.  There  also 
tends  to  be  some  variation  in  growth  in  differ- 
ent seasons.  There  is  usually  more  rapid  in- 
crease in  height  during  summer  and  in  weight 
through  the  fall  and  spring  months.  This  may 
be  explained  by  the  fact  that  summer  is  vaca- 
tion time  with  possibilities  of  abundant 
outdoor  air  and  plenty  of  pleasant  exer- 
cise. 

Whenever  there  is  a  rapid  increase  in  height, 
the  child  is  apt  to  grow  thin  and  anemic,  as  the 
making  of  bone  quickly  uses  up  the  red  cor- 
puscles of  the  blood.  These  children  become 
nervous  and  irritable,  requiring  extra  care  at 


84    Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

home  and  school.  Such  supervision  must  con- 
cern itself  with  a  carefully  selected  diet,  plenty 
of  rest,  and  the  avoidance  of  intellectual  over- 
stimulation. These  children  must  never  be 
pushed  at  school,  and  it  may  even  be  necessary 
to  remove  them  for  a  time  if  they  are  worried 
by  their  studies. 

It  has  been  proved  from  examinations  of  many 
school  children  that,  as  a  rule,  the  heaviest  and 
tallest,  or  those  with  the  best  physique  stand 
highest  in  their  classes  and  show  the  best  intel- 
lectual development.  Hence,  if  a  child  is 
poorly  nourished  or  undeveloped,  the  best  thing, 
even  for  his  intellectual  growth,  is  to  focus 
attention  on  his  body  for  a  time  and  let  his 
min-d  be  temporarily  neglected.  Competitive 
examinations  at  the  end  of  the  school  year,  after 
the  fatigue  of  the  mnter's  work,  coming  at  a 
time  when  growth  is  usually  most  active  in  a 
child,  too  often  result  in  nervous  exhaustion. 

Proper  growth  in  the  school  child  is  measured 
by  a  study  of  the  relation  of  height  and  weight. 
This  gives  a  truer  insight  into  normal  condi- 
tions than  simply  taking  the  average  height  and 


The  School  Child  85 

weight  of  a  large  number  of  children  and  con- 
structing a  table  to  be  used  as  a  standard.  The 
latter  plan  has  usually  been  followed  but  is  sub- 
ject to  certain  inaccuracies  that  may  cause  un- 
due anxiety  on  the  part  of  parents  and  teachers. 
The  manner  and  degree  of  increase  in  height 
and  weight  depend  to  a  certain  extent  upon 
race  and  climate,  as  well  as  on  the  size  and 
physique  of  the  parents.  It  is  thus  evident 
that,  although  these  average  tables  are  of 
value,  no  absolute  rules  can  be  given  for  com- 
parison that  ^vill  always  apply  to  every  child. 

A  satisfactory  table  has  been  compiled  by 
Dr.  Thomas  D.  Wood  and  is  used  by  the  Child 
Health  Organization  and  the  U.  S.  Government 
publications. 

Weigh  on  the  same  date  each  month  about 
the  same  hour  of  the  day.  Weights  and  meas- 
ures should  be  taken  without  shoes  and  in  only 
the  usual  indoor  clothes.  Boys  should  remove 
their  coats. 

Here  is  arranged  a  sliding  scale  of  the  rela- 
tion of  height  to  weight,  according  to  age, 


86     Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

which  affords  a  satisfactory  working  basis  for 
reference.  These  measurements  can  easily  be 
taken  by  parent  or  teacher  once  or  twice  a  year 
and  a  fairly  satisfactory  guide  to  proper  de- 
velopment thus  obtained,  allowance  for  indi- 
vidual variations  having  been  made. 

The  following  are  some  of  the  conclusions 
reached  after  an  extensive  and  thorough  study 
of  Iowa  school  children,  ^ — * '  The  weight — 
height  index  is  the  most  practical  criterion  of 
normal  growth  in  robustness  and,  other  condi- 
tions being  normal,  in  general  nutrition." 

With  regard  to  height, — *^For  boys  and  girls 
from  six  to  eighteen  years  of  age  there  is  a 
slight  adolescent  acceleration  in  height  and 
weight.  *  *  *  *  As  a  rule  tall  boys  and  tall 
girls  reach  their  periods  of  maximum  adoles- 
cent stature  earlier  than  do  short  ones.  *  *  *  * 
If  there  is  retardation  before  adolescence,  the 
tendency  is  to  show  a  rapid  acceleration  during 
adolescence  as  a  compensating  factor.  *  *  * 
Tall  children  at  any  age  remain  relatively  tall 

^  Studies  in  Child  Welfare — University  of  Iowa — 1921. 


HEIGHT   and   WEIGHT  TABLE  for  BOYS 


Height 

5 

6 

7 

s 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

1(5 

17 

itj 

Inches 

Vrs 
35 

Vrs 
36 

Vrs 

Vrs 

Yrs 

Yrs 

Yrs 

Yrs 

Yrs 

Yrs 

Yrs 

Yrs 

Yrs 

Yr3 

39 

37 

40 

37 

38 

39 

41 

39 

40 

41 

42 

41 

42 

43 

44 

43 

43 

44 

45 

46 

44 

45 

46 

46 

47 

45 

47 

47 

48 

48 

49 

46 

48 

49 

50 

50 

51 

47 

51 

52 

52 

53 

54 

48 

53 

54 

55 

55 

56 

57 

49 

55 

56 

57 

58 

58 

59 

50 

58 

59 

60 

60 

61 

62 

51 

60 

61 

62 

63 

64 

65 

52 

62 

63 

64 

65 

67 

68 

53 

66 
69 

67 
70 
73 

77 

68 
71 
74 
78 
81 
84 
87 
91 

69 
72 
75 
79 
82 
85 
88 
92 
95 
100 
105 

70 

73 

76 

80 

83 

86 

89 

93 

97 

102 

107 

113 

71 

74 

77 

81 

84 

87 

90 

94 

99 

104 

109 

115 

120 

125 

130 

134 

138 

78 

82 

85 

88 

92 

97 

102 

106 

111 

117 

122 

126 

131 

135 

139 

142 

147 

152 

157 

162 

86 
90 
94 
99 
104 
109 
114 
118 
123 
127 
132 
136 
140 
144 
149 
154 
159 
164 
169 
174 

91 
96 
101 
106 
111 
115 
119 
124 
128 
1.33 
137 
141 
145 
150 
155 
160 
165 
170 
175 

97 
102 
108 
113 
117 
120 
125 
129 
134 
138 
142 
146 
151 
156 
161 
166 
171 
176 

54 

55 

56 

57 

58 

59 

60 

61 

110 

62 

116 

63 

119 

64 

122 

65 

12*6 

6G 

130 

67 

135 

68 

139 

69 

143 

70 

147 

71 

152 

72 

157 

73 

162 

74 

167 

75 

172 

76 

177 

rffCPARCO    BY    DR.    THOMAS    O.    WOOD 


About   What   a    BOY    Should   Gain  Each    Month 


AGE 


5  to  8 6  oz.  12  to  16 16  oz. 

8  to  12 8  oz,  16  to  18 8  o*. 


HEIGHT  and   WEIGHT  TABLE  for  GIRLS  » 


(Height 

5 

fi 

7 

s 

i» 

10 

11 

12 

13 

It 

15 

1« 

i< 

IH 

Inches 

Yrs 

Vis 

Vrs 
30 

Yrs 

Yrs 

Yrs 

Yrs 

Yrs 

Yrs 

Yrs 

Yrs 

Yrs 

Yrs 

Yrs 

39 

34 

40 

3G 

37 

38 

41 

38 

■M) 

40 

42 

40 

41 

42 

43 

43 

42 

42 

43 

44 

44 

44 

45 

45 

46 

45 

46 

47 

47 

48 

49 

46 

48 

48 

49 

50 

51 

47 

49 

50 

51 

52 

53 

48 

51 

52 

53 

54 

55 

56 

49 

53 

54 

55 

56 

57 

58 

50 

56 

57 

58 

59 

60 

61 

51 

59 

60 

61 

62 

63 

64 

52 

62 

63 

64 

65 

66 

67 

53 

66 
68 

67 
69 

68 
70 

68 
71 

69 

72 

70 
73 

54 

55 

72 
76 

73 

77 
81 
85 
89 

74 

78 
82 
86 
90 
94 
99 
104 
109 

75 

79 

83 

87 

91 

95 

101 

106 

111 

115 

117 

119 

7G 

80 

84 

88 

93 

97 

102 

107 

112 

117 

119 

121 

124 

126 

129 

77 

81 

85 

89 

94 

99 

104 

109 

113 

118 

120 

122 

126 

128 

131 

134 

138 

86 
90 
95 
100 
106 
111 
115 
119 
122 
124 
127 
130 
133 
136 
140 
145 

91 
96 
102 
108 
113 
117 
120 
123 
126 
128 
132 
135 
138 
142 
147 

98 
104 
109 
114 
118 
121 
124 
127 
129 
133 
136 
139 
143 
MS 

56 

57 

58 

59 

60 

106 

61 

111 

62 

115 

63 

119 

64 

122 

65 

125 

66 

128 

67 

130 

68 

134 

69 

137 

70 

140 

71 

72 

144 

149 

PREPA 

RD  OY  OR.  THO 

mis  0.   wooo 

Abou 

t  What 

a  GIRL  Shoi 

lid 

Gain 

Eac 

h  Month 

A(1K 

AGE 

5  to  8 

.  6  oz. 

14  to 

16. 

8  oa. 

8  toll 

..8  oz. 

16  to 

18.. 

4  oz 

11  to  14 

.12oz. 

1 

Com 

iright 

1918, 

by   C 

'hOd 

Health 

i  Org 

anixat 

ion 

The  School  Child  87 

under  normal  conditions.  Growth  in  height  is 
so  comparatively  uniform  for  each  individual 
that  the  growth  curve  enables  one  to  prophesy 
with  a  high  degree  of  accuracy  how  tall  a  young 
child  will  be  at  subsequent  years.  Growth  in 
height  is  affected  by  the  formation  and  removal 
of  adenoids.  Prolonged  disease  history  retards 
normal  growth  in  stature.  *  *  *  There  is  a 
great  probability  that  a  tall  boy  or  girl  at  six 
years  will  be  a  tall  boy  or  girl  at  twelve  years 
of  age ;  a  tall  boy  or  girl  at  nine  or  ten  will  be 
tall  at  fifteen  or  sixteen  years  of  age.  *  *  *  For 
height  boys  have  a  greater  variability  than  girls 
at  all  ages  between  seven  and  seventeen,  except 
at  twelve  and  seventeen ;  at  thirteen  they  are  the 
same.  Boys  fluctuate  more  in  variability  in 
height  than  girls." 

The  following  are  some  of  the  conclusions 
reached  as  to  weight, — "There  is  more  in- 
dividual variation  in  growth  in  weight  than  in 
growth  in  height.  Pre-adolescent  acceleration 
in  growth  in  weight  precedes  as  a  rule  the  pre- 
adolescent  acceleration  in  growth  in  height. 


88     Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

The  pre-adolescent  acceleration  in  growth  in 
weight  is  earlier,  chronologically,  for  the  tall 
boys  or  girls  than  for  the  short  ones.  Growth 
in  weight  is  affected  by  disease  history  and 
the  growth  and  removal  of  adenoids.  *  *  *  The 
heavy  boy  or  girl  at  six  or  nine  or  ten  will 
be  a  heavy  boy  or  girl  six  years  later.  *  *  * 
For  weight  boys  have  greater  variability  ex- 
cept at  the  ages  of  nine  to  thirteen,  inclusive, 
and  at  sixteen  and  seventeen.  Girls  also 
fluctuate  more  in  variability  in  weight  than 
boys." 

These  data  represent  conclusions  reached 
after  an  intensive  study  of  a  fairly  homogeneous 
class  of  white  American  school  children  in  that 
state. 

Many  years  ago  tables  of  the  results  of  wide- 
spread and  extensive  observations  throughout 
the  world  were  published  by  the  American 
Journal  of  Psychology.^  It  may  be  of  interest 
to  reproduce  two  of  them  here  for  record  and 
reference. 

1  April,  1898. 


to  ^^  I-' t-»  M  (-i  i-»  M  H-i  i-i  M  h-i 

vM  ^J— v>-' v>-» ^J-*  vH*  v^-i -^  xh-i  v^-"  v*-^  vH-*  v*-^ \M 

lO^  10^  tC^  t^  tS^  tO^  tO^  IC~^  tS^  M^  tO^  M^  10^  lO~^  t^  N^  ti^  ►^ 

Q3Q5pQ5fDJcpppB5P30503a3C3pp93 

>-i>-i>-i>S>-i'-i>-i>-i'-i>S>-i<-i^<-i<-i^>-i<-t 


o:)  05  oi  to  p  --1  oi  CO  _h-»  p  ^  o*i  CO  [-' 

^  to  O  CO  '^  bo  H*  CO  CXi  b^  ^  '-q  '—i  bi 

CO  GO  to  C^  rfi.  CM  -J 


C50ia5aiaicncncnOirf^^;^rfi.rf^f^ 

h-»i— 1|— »i— icooocncoi— 'O^jcncoh- ' 

CO  O  OJ  M  CO  tN3  CO  f*^  bo  CO  en  en  CO  to 
to  hfi.  ~a  QO  to  Ol  CO 


C5cy5aicno-<oic;iC7«i*^,, 
cncor-'oooshfi.toococsjl^to 

o  H-*  o  CO  CO  ^^^  ^  ^  o  CO  CO  CO 


^^^^ 


05C7i05c:)Cncnc;^cnc;icnrfi.f|i«.i^4^; 

CO^rf^tOOQOCXi^^tO, 


to  to  to  to 

■rfi.  bo  Ij  o  o 


co-<ioohF»-05-aa5Cn4i. 


^ 


^ 


CJ50^050^a^c;^C^c^c^^^*'rf^^*^co 

CiCntOCO^CnCOh- 'pQOOihf^tOCD 

C5  f-'  CO  CO  bl  O  -<1  QO  O  O  O  O  to  CO 
CiOiOOlCOOOQDGO 


050iOia>05cncnoioirf^*'>4^rf^HP>-co 

to  to  to  I— '  p  GO  p  CO  h-i  CO  ;-->  en  CO  h-i  CO  hij 

bi  CO  to  Oi  en  '-J  oi  en  bo  bo  en  CO  ^  '--J  Oi  • 
CO  I—*  CO  CO  00  to  en 


OOJCsOiOienoienenrfi^rfii-t^^rfi' 
^-^j^i.i_iopo'tcoH-'p;-ac:jihl^ 
b^  I-*  en  bo  '•<»  bo  f-»  en  CD  CO  oj  o  'h-* 


ai0^a5CT5a5C^>encnenrfi.^f^^^*>■ 
cototoi— »i— 'Oascoj— ippffi-rf^ 

to  '-a  '-^i  CO  lo  o  oi  CO  en  to  bo  co  rf^ 


O  05  Oi  05  Oi  C5  C5 

->]  c»  ^  Ci  ai  e;i  CO 


ic;icnencnoihf^>^i*^rf^ 

icoa5H4i'tooooc?ia^co 


cnrfi.cocococo^i-'cooiQootoi-'tf'to 


0iO^O5aia5G50:la5e^a^C3^c^rf^rf^rf^tf^^f^ 
to  to  to  to  to  to  M  O  GO  -~J  CO  to  p  _-J  p  CO  to 

'•^j  Oi  '-"J  oi  bo  f^  bo  OT  to  o  CO  CO  bo  CO  CO  bo  co 


ai05aicncnuiencnenrfii.rf^»^ 

~JCntOCDGO~ja!COh- 'Q0-<101 
f-»  '—1  bo  CO  bo  O  CO  O  'to  CO  H-'  o 


C5C7iC5a50iCncncicn^^>^rfi-'. 
CO  to  to  J-"  O  ;<l  jf'  to  O  OD  a^t*^  . 

C5  en  b"!  *rfi>-  ff^  CO  Oi  bo  bo  "hf*  co  co  • 


^ 


Boston. 
(Bowditch.) 
13,691  boys, 
10,904  girls. 


"■4 


w 


St.  Louis. 

(Porter.) 

16,295  boys, 

18,059    girls; 

age  nearest 

birthday. 


o 

a 

a 

h-t 
f 

o 


Milwaukee.    ^_, 

(G.  W.  Peck-  !> 

ham.)    4,773 

boys,  4,891    -H 

girls.  >.^ 

w 

o 

OB 


Oakland. 

Number  not 

stated. 


Worcester. 
— ■        (West.) 

3,250    chil- 
•^         dren. 


fc^ 


New  Haven. 

(Gilbert.) 
About  50  of 
each  sex  for 

each   age. 


9 

H 

CO 

> 

9 

c! 

'si 

H 
W 
t— < 
PI 

I 


"^  ^x!*  ~^  ^tr' ^Jr*  ^^  ^i^  "^  ""^ '^  ^tr"  ^tr*  ^i^  vj-*  ^ '"' ^tr*  "^ -^ 

t3^  IC^  tO^  tO^  t^  t$^  tO^  INO^  b5^  1^  10^  tO^  tO^  t^  tO^  tO^  tO~^  t>0^ 


9 


J£>  QO  QO  05  rfi.  J-J  GO  ^  Ol  CO  H-»  CD  ^1  en 

o  bi  to  '--a  -^i  '--a  ^  I— 1  K)  CO  CO  oi  GO  "o 


05cr50i050^C5cnc?iCncncDai».ffi.hP>. 

^^^  hP»-  Jfi.  CO  CO  M  p  QO  rf^  CO  H-J  IX)  Oi  rf^ 

b:)  OS  cj(  CO  CO  ^  t>o  o  01  o  CO  to  bo  'o5 


csCTscso^ojasciC^OiCJicnuicji 
^^-j^i^-^i-qosoitoi— 'oicncoi— ' 

a>  OS  oi  CO  M  cri  CO  CO  o  "-q  i-i  io  to 


asOiO:iCncnoicnc;ih4i.rfi.>^ 
jfi.  CO  h-i  CO  ^  en  CO  t-'  CO  pi  rf^ 
05  en  Oi  f-*  to  to  rfi-  en  CO  ^^i^  I-' 


c;ienC7»cnrf^hfi..ffi.rfi>- 
_-<i  hfi.  to  J-'  (LO  ~q  p\  CO 

Jfi.  *cn  CO  f-»  to  f-i  bo  CO 


0505OiO5C3iOienencjienencnh^rf^hf^ 
^  -<i  p  oi  CO  J-*  po  oj  ui  CO  to  h-i  CO  ;<!  en 

'-^  CO  CO  '-a  bo  rfi.  ^  *-<i  M  h\  ](i^  bi  05  05  05 


05050505a50505c;icncr«encnt4:i.><^HP^ 
CO  CO  CO  CO  to  I— '  o  Qo  05  CO  to  p  GO  en  j^i". 

O  bo  o  o  05  bo  to  CO  CO  CO  O  o  I|i«.  ^  en 


0i05050305<:;itnenencnhfi.i^h4i>.rfi. 
05  05  en  j4^  J-*  00  05  rfi.  CO  j-"  CO  _~J  en  rf^ 

CO  CO  ^  05  *rf^  ^  CO  CO  J-*  to  "to  to  CO  h-* 


C5C50<C7<enencnrf^*^*>-i^ 

to  p  CO  ^  rfi.  to  h-*  p  -J  Ol  jfs.. 

05  05  hf^  en  CO  rf^  to  to  to  CO  !-' 


C50505C50505e^encnenen^fi.rfi.^^.^;^^|i>• 

05  05  pi  jP»>  to  p  :<i  en  CO  J-*  p  p  j-j  en  CO  h-» 

CO  o  U'  *eji  CO  "-J  bo  CO  o  en  "en  to  o  o  'to  to 


f 

a 

W 

i 
U 


»^ 


^ 


^ 


m 


^ 


Iowa. 

(Gilbert.) 
About  50  of 
each  sex  for 

each   agp. 


Pennsylva- 
nia.   (Hall.) 
2,434  males 
(nude.) 


Moscow. 
(Erisman.) 
3,212  boys, 
1,495  girls. 


M 

s 

Si 


<! 
> 
a 

M 

o 
d 

QD 


^ 


Sweden       q 

Commis-      « 

sion.      (Key.)  S 

15,000  boys,  g 

3,000  giri.    ® 

> 


^ 


Denmark 
Commis- 
sion.    (Her- 
tel.)     17,134 
boys,  11,250 
girls. 


9 

d 

iz! 

H 


England.      1.3 
(Roberts.)     W 
Over  10,000  W 
males. 

I 


t\^     |v^     I      J      I        I      t       J     1       «      L^     Ual     ^^     ^<^     ^i^     fa^ 

O-l  O^  vb^  vM  O-^  vH  vH  vt^  vt"*  ^Jr*  vt^  ^f-' vM  ■vl-' ~v!-^ 
53fir-ji-ii-<i-ii-ii-ji-ji-ji-ii-j»-ii-ji-jT'-Si-5i-j 


CO  tN3  to  O  '■-O  GO  ^1  ^  Cti  01  CI  >^  *»  ►?»• 
tsD  -^  I— 1  ^  ^-..  h4-  CT)  O  Ol  JO  CO  CO  ai  J-* 

as  bi  o  t-»  CO  Qo  CO  to  CO  to  CO  "m  N)  I-' 


H-iH-'H-'Ocooo-ioso:)CnUTff>-rf^co 
cnaitoo5QOQoooooto_-<ito^coco 

to  en  O  ^-»  ^J^  '-^  00  bo  Jfi.  i-»  o  en  co  '-q 


toi-'OODC»~acr>c:>crtcn^Fi.rf^ 
tocoi— 'copcoooto_--Jt07^co 

bo  GO  CO  'h-i  ^  CO  CO  'rf^  bi  en  bo  ~i 


H-it-'H-'i— '>-'Ocooo~305C5Cncnrfi.rf:». 
CO  en  en  oj  o  CO  CO  _4».  h<^  as  O  en  o  en  J-* 
bof-'enocoocococoa5aicoenco^ 


cocotoocooo— i-jaienenrfi.*'f4i>'Co 
--qotOcocnrf^asoencococorf^h-'Qo 

bo  tfi.  h-«  o  bo  CO  'h-*  CO  k^  *en  bo  f-i  Qo  I-»  bo 


f_i(_ii— iocooo-<ia5aioienrfi.i^rf^co 
bo  CO  o  en  ^  CO  _-<i  00  to  05  p  _-o  CO  p  oi 

en  CO  b^  CO  Oi  o  bo  bo  Ifi.  K^  CO  o  f-*  o  bo 


-^  I— »  I— '  H- '  ^ 

coeotoocooo'-cioaienenenhf*' 

«J  I— '  H-i  00  ~J  CO  _"<l  to  05  p  hf^  p  .--1 

Ij  '-q  as  I-*  o  4^  «o  o  ^  oj  to  "to  bi 


h-»i— '0ococo-^a505enenrf^>4i>-l 
00  ~3  CO  oo  00  p  00  CO  CO  00  to  Qo  en  . 

CO  '-J  bo  CO  to  ""^i  CO  ^1  to  ci  to  H-'  CO  • 


i*>.cocotO!-»cooo"<i~qa5Cncnrf^>j^rf^ 
toootocotooopoohjotjpcoppto 

C5  to  CO  bi  CO  ^-«  I— '  -J  o  en  bo  05  CO  o  o^ 
oocoenot-'h- 'hti'-Jti^eo 


l-'H-'^^»-loocooo~aa5a>enen^f^^f^eo 
cooooencoenco^cococo;-aj— '_— 3yop 

bo  CO  "o  "o  o  o  M  bi  ^  io  bi  CO  bi  CO  ~a  CO 
Oa5rf^^fi.tO-qOOiOCJ5 


cotot-icooDOo-aosajenent^ 
o-apH-'Ootooooptot-'p 
O  O  O  ^  O  CO  bo  h<i.  o  bi  to  GO 


^-'f-iOcocooo-:^ascncnen^^ 

COCOrf^OOtOrfi-OCOOOCOpH^ 

"•<j  o  o  o  o  b«  o  *--a  bo  o  rf^  bo 


►^ 


Boston. 
(Bowditch.) 
13,691   boys 
10.904  eirls. 


o 

n 
o 

CO 


o 


y^     St.  Louis, 
p^      (Porter.) 
16,295  boys, 

18,059    girls;  Q 

age  nearest    H 
•^     birthday.      p 


!;>    Milwaukee,    m 

r^  (G.  W.  Peck  5< 

ham.)      4,773 

boys,  4,891    <J 

OB 


9 

Oakland.       h 

Number  not    ^ 

stated.         CO 


►^ 


Worcester. 

(West.) 
3,250    chil- 
dren. 


^ 


a 

o 
w 

CO 


s 

H 


New  Haven. 
(Gilbert.)      <1 

About  50  of  o^ 
^^  each  sex  for  m 
/^     each   age.      C 


tOtOh-'l-'l-'l— 'V-'h-'l— 'h-il— 'I-'         ^  ^       .,. 

t-'0'XlOo^qo5C^^^co^^l-»ocDoo^cr5d^;i.co 

'-i-s<S^>S>-i<-i'-i'i'-i<-i'-i>-i>S>-t'-i'^^^ 


> 

IS 


oi  lO  o  o  _-<i  lo  o  Qo  to  CO  h-i  en  J-*  en 
bi  bi  i-'  "o  o  o  Id  to  hI^  *-->  bi  o  *>•  ^ 


to  to  to  !_i 

Oi  01  I— '  t— » 


*>-ir<ocr5Cci;oh-'~jtoi— 'I— 'Orf^Ci 


^^  4^.  4i.  CO  oi  CO  o  '^  00  00  ~3  o^i  en 
en  to  O  oc  CO  OT  CO  o  <x>  o  J-*  p:>  CO 

i-i  Oi  -^  *-J  GO  '-q  "-^  OS  '-J  OT  "-0  i-"  '*» 


^^      ^^vA     ^^^     ^^^     w^^     ^^^ 

Hp^COCOtOh- 'O^OD~"^~-l<^<^C;i'^^ 

CO  CO  C7<  -1  en  CO  CO  to  Ci  H-i  oi  4i.  _q  o  en 
'-J  Ci  h-i  "o  CO  to  CO  to  '►-*  "o  bo  bs  bo  CO  bo 


tOtOtOtOI— '0000^"<lC5Cnon>4^ 

-a  a>  rfi'  o  CO  _-J  GO  _•<!  p  p  vf^  JO  tn  ;<i 
INS  C5 1-"  Ht^  bo  bo  bo  CO  H-'  CO  bo  CO  J-i  C5 


cotoi— »ooooor^aio^cncn>;^kf^ 

*..  Oi  OS  to  p  p  P  CO  to  ;-^  p  p  05 

en  bo  bo  Oi  CO  en  '^  CO  bo  CO  c£)  b^  CO 


I— 'OOQo^C5Cicnen*«-rf^ 
to  CO  to  CO  en  ^5  h-i  as  f-i  ;-J  fl^ 

'►fi^  bi  b>  bo  o  to  ^  to  GO  rfi>-  f-' 


CO  to  (-'  o  CO  95  ■ 

to  OS  Oi  CO  h-i  LO 


0:1  oi  en  rf^  4i- 

— a  I— '  CO  GO  >fi. 


eno3Qo~jen'~S4^tOH-'h-»eni-' 


ococoGo  QDc:>a5ent^rf^f4^ 
i_i  CO  *»  CO  p  CT)  o  as  00  -^  to 

o  CO  4^  00  "en  bo  ifi.  If-  en  0  *go 


^ 


Iowa. 

(Gilbert.) 
About  50  of 
each  sex  for 

each  age. 


Pennsylva- 
nia.   (Hall.) 
■  2,434  males 
(nude.) 


> 

a 
M 

o 


o 

d 

S! 
o 


O 

O 

w 


"^ 


Sweden 

Commis-       m 

sion.      (Key.)  ^ 

15,000  boys,  <^ 

3,000  girls.    > 

M 

o 

d 

03 

Denmark     _ 

Commis-      i? 

sion.     (Her-  H 

tel.)     17,134  H 

boys,  11,250  ^ 

girls. 

t> 

o 


Moscow. 
(Erismann.) 
2,453  boys, 
1,495  girls. 


enenrfS'rf^hf'-cocototot^ 

GOh+i-coentocicoco— 3|^ 


to  1— '  I— '  o  CO  CO  ~j  9^ 

H-»  CO  OS  4-  to  p  to  *- 

bo  OS  to  ►-*  to  -J  bo  CT5  bi  *.~a  *rf^  bi  bo  00  en  oo  00 


ocooo-^CTiC7<en4i.*'CococototO(_j 
oa5>4^aipco^f*.Goi— 'copcoGojfi.^-y 

J-i  '-q  bo  05  o  M  o  bo  01  00  o  o  bo  M  ^  "^ 


o 

-~3 


Turin. 

(Pagliani.) 

1,048  boys, 

968  girls. 


O 

o 

H 

W 

GO 
O 

Hi 

a 


o 


The  School  Child  93 

Apparent  stupidity  or  bad  mentality  in 
school  children  is  often  the  result  of  physical 
causes  that  can  and  should  be  removed.  Dr. 
Josephine  Baker  in  writing  on  child  health 
quotes  the  following: 

The  New  York  State  Department  of  Health 
has  published  the  following  figures  giving  the 
estimated  defects  in  the  22,000,000  children 
of  the  United  States: 

_  At  least  200,000  (1%)  are  mentally  defec- 
tive  * 

At  least  250,000  (over  1%)  are  aifected 
wdth  organic  heart  disease ; 

At  least  1,000,000  (5%)  have  now  or  have 
had  tuberculosis; 

At  least  1,000,000,  (5%)  are  unable  to  hear 
properly  and  because  this  condition  is  unrec- 
ognized many  of  these  children  have  the 
undeserved  reputation  of  being  mentally  de- 
fective ; 

At  least  5,000,000  (25%)  have  defective 
eyes; 

At  least  one  out  of  every  5  of  these  children 
is  undernourished; 

From  3,000,000  to  5,000,000  (15%  to  25%) 
have  adenoids,  diseased  tonsils  or  other  glan- 
dular defects; 

From  2,000,000  to  4,000,000  (10%  to  20%) 
have  weak  foot  arches,  weak  spines  or  other 
joint  defects ;  and 


94     Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

From  11,000,000  tol6,000,000  (50%  to  75%) 
have  defective  teeth. 

Most  of  these  defects  or  diseases  are  either 
preventable  or  remediable  if  discovered  early- 
enough  and  if  the  proper  treatment  is  given. 
When  are  we  going  to  learn  that  it  is  poor 
economy  to  neglect  the  child  in  school  and 
then  care  for  him  during  his  adult  years  be- 
cause of  some  disability? 

Rural  Scliools 

A  number  of  years  ago,  Dr.  Thomas  D.  Wood 
of  Teachers  College,  who  has  had  a  wide  ex- 
perience along  educational  lines,  gave  some  in- 
teresting data  as  to  the  condition  of  children 
attending  rural  schools.  He  found  that  more 
than  half  of  the  children  in  the  United  States 
are  attending  these  country  schools.  In  a  care- 
fully prepared  table,  which  includes  all  parts  of 
the  country,  it  is  shown  that  children  attending 
these  rural  schools  are  less  healthy  and  are 
handicapped  by  more  physical  defects  than  are 
the  children  of  the  cities,  even  including  those 
living  in  the  slums.  Dr.  Wood  finds  that  more 
than  twice  as  many  country  children  as  city 
children  suffer  from  mal-nutrition ;  the  former 
are  also  more  anemic,  have  more  lung  trouble, 


The  School  Child  95 

and  include  more  mental  defectives  than  do  the 
latter.  In  a  recent  communication,  he  has 
stated  that  eye  vision  standards  are  very  lax 
in  rural  schools.  He  declares  that  country 
children  are  not  being  given  as  careful  cultiva- 
tion as  crops  and  live  stock.  He  finds,  more- 
over, that  21  per  cent,  of  American  children 
have  eye  defects,  and  such  conditions  may  cause 
bright  children  to  become  dull. 

Defective  eyes  mth  imperfect  vision  may 
cause  blurring  of  sight,  headache,  dizziness, 
nervous  irritation  and  lack  of  control.  Dr. 
Wood  believes  that  educational  experts  in  this 
country  are  coming  to  an  increased  apprecia- 
tion of  the  importance  of  the  eye  in  school 
work. 

A  concerted  effort  to  improve  the  health  and 
normal  development  of  school  children  should 
be  made  by  parents,  teachers  and  physical  di- 
rectors. As  a  start,  more  time  in  the  school 
curriculum  could  be  given  to  a  careful  study  of 
the  physical  condition  of  the  pupils.  This 
should  be  done  by  physicians  accustomed  to 
such  work  and  not  by  mere  physical  trainers. 


g6    Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

The  latter  are  not  capable  of  recognizing  ab- 
normal conditions  of  the  heart,  lungs  or  other 
internal  organs,  yet  much  may  depend  on  such 
knowledge. 

Correct  Posture 

One  of  the  fundamental  requirements  is  the 
teaching  of  correct  posture,  both  standing  and 
sitting.  This  will  not  only  redound  to  future 
health  but  add  to  the  personal  appearance  of 
the  individual.  A  correct  poise  can  be  attained 
by  a  little  practice  at  this  time  which  will  last 
all  through  life. 

The  chest  should  be  carried  high  and  arched 
forward,  with  shoulders  held  squarely  back, 
the  neck  straight,  the  chin  pointed  in,  and  the 
abdomen  also  held  firmly  in.  Such  a  carriage, 
accompanied  by  deep,  full  breathing  will  make 
both  for  health  and  grace.  The  muscles  of  the 
back  and  abdomen  can  thus  be  strengthened 
and  an  improved  tone  imparted  to  the  whole 
system.  An  indirect  but  appreciable  help  can 
also  be  rendered  to  some  common  ailments,  of 
which  indigestion  and  constipation  are  perhaps 


The  School  Child  97 

the  commonest.  Boys  and  girls,  soon  to  become 
young  men  and  women,  no  matter  how  plain  of 
feature  they  may  be,  can  become  attractive  to 
look  upon  by  being  taught  always  to  hold  them- 
selves erect  and  in  the  proper  posture.  There 
is  a  great  contrast  between  an  attractive 
physical  poise  and  the  slouchy  position  so  often 
seen  in  boys  and  girls,  especially  the  latter. 
The  debutante  stoop  now  affected  by  many 
young  women  is  distressing  to  view. 

School  Equipment 

The  tendency  of  many  school  children  to 
faulty  posture  may  be  due  to  desks  or  chairs 
not  being  of  proper  size  or  shape.  There  may 
thus  ensue  an  undue  curving  of  the  back  with 
a  contraction  of  the  chest.  The  desk  may  be 
too  high  or  too  low,  and  the  chair  is  often 
placed  too  far  back  from  the  desk.  The  seat 
for  each  child  should  be  of  the  same  height  as 
the  length  of  the  leg  from  the  knee  to  the  foot, 
so  that  when  sitting,  the  sole  and  heel  can  rest 
easily  on  the  floor.  If  the  seat  is  too  low,  the 
body  is  bowed  forward,  and  if  too  high,  only  the 


98     Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

toes  touch  the  floor  and  a  strain  is  thus  put  on 
the  whole  body.  When  the  desk  is  too  high,  the 
spinal  column,  which  is  very  supple  in  the 
young,  is  thrown  into  a  condition  of  lateral 
curvature.  When  many  hours  each  day  are 
spent  in  unnatural  or  constricted  positions,  the 
result  cannot  fail  to  be  disastrous.  The  room, 
as  well  as  its  appliances,  should  be  conducive 
to  health,  as  such  a  large  portion  of  every 
child's  life  is  spent  in  school.  Ventilation  and 
light  are  of  great  importance.  Cross  venti- 
lation from  windows  open  at  the  top  is  usually 
the  most  satisfactory. 

Each  child  should  be  allowed  about  twenty 
square  feet  of  floor  space  and  at  least  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  to  three  hundred  cubic  feet  of  air 
space.  Of  course,  even  these  allowances  will 
be  insufficient  unless  there  is  a  free  supply  of 
pure  air.  The  windows  should  be  placed  as 
high  as  possible  toward  the  ceiling  for  good 
light  as  well  as  ventilation.  A  northern  light  is 
preferable,  but  from  whatever  direction  it 
comes,  it  should  strike  the  book  of  the  pupil 
from  behind,  and,  if  possible,  from  the  left. 


The  School  Child  99 

Glaring  sunlight  is  hard  on  the  eyes,  and  any 
dazzling  light  may  be  avoided  by  window  shades 
made  of  some  kind  of  gray  material.  The  walls 
of  the  room  are  best  tinted  with  a  shade  of  gray, 
and  every  part  should  be  well  lighted.  The 
best  temperature  of  the  room  during  winter 
would  be  about  68°  F. 

Physicians  and  sanitarians  should  oftener  be 
placed  on  school  boards  in  order  to  superintend 
health  conditions  and  see  that  they  are  right. 

Intellectual  effort  and  hours  of  confinement 
should  be  carefully  gauged  according  to  the  age 
of  the  child.  Some  years  ago  the  hours  of 
work  and  sleep  required  during  childhood  and 
youth  were  tabulated  by  the  Eoyal  Sanitary 
Institute  of  Great  Britain  as  follows: 


Hours 

Hours 

Age  of  pupils 

of  \vork 

of  sleep 

per  dav 

per  night 

From  5  to    6  years 

1 

13^2 

'     6  to    7     " 

IV2 

13 

'     7  to    8    " 

2 

i2y2 

'      8  to     9     " 

21/2 

12 

'      9  to  10    " 

3 

llVs 

'    10  to  12     " 

3 

11 

'    12  to  14     " 

5 

ioy2 

'    14  to  16    " 

d 

10 

'    16  to  18     " 

7 

91/3 

"    18  to  19     " 

8 

9 

100  Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

It  should  be  remembered  that  little  children 
easily  tire  on  mental  exertion,  which  should  not 
be  continued  too  long  without  interruption. 
The  table  given  will  serve  as  a  guide  in  this  re- 
spect for  the  early  years. 

Athletics 

Plenty  of  out-door  exercise  is  required  by  the 
growing  child  and  youth  in  order  to  lay  up  a 
store  of  vigor  for  future  use.  While  a  certain 
amount  of  indoor  gymnasium  exercise  may  be 
valuable,  nothing  is  so  beneficial  to  the  boy  or 
girl  as  play  in  the  open  air.  In  certain  lines, 
however,  there  may  be  danger  of  carrying  exer- 
cise too  far,  especially  during  the  period  of 
adolescence.  This  is  shown  in  the  craze  for 
athletics  seen  in  many  schools  and  colleges. 
The  outcome  of  this  excessive  interest  is  a  few 
over-developed  athletes  and  a  majority  of  stu- 
dents barred  out  entirely  owing  to  the  high 
physical  standard  required  for  great  competi- 
tive contests.  School  and  college  athletics,  as 
at  present  conducted,  usually  conserve  and  over- 


The  School  Child  loi 

develop  the  strong  and  eliminate  the  weak,  just 
the  ones  needing  most  attention. 

It  is  questionable  whether  eventually  more 
physical  harm  than  good  does  not  come  even 
to  the  athletes  themselves.  The  terrific  strain 
put  upon  the  vital  organs,  especially  the  heart 
and  lungs,  involved  in  these  close  competitive 
struggles,  is  sometimes  followed  by  lasting  ill 
effects.  The  excessive  development  of  the  mus- 
cular system  in  a  person  who  is  shortly  to  settle 
down  to  sedentary  pursuits  may  end  in  dis- 
astrous results.  The  blood  that  should  nour- 
ish the  vital  organs  is  appropriated  in  the  build- 
ing up  of  powerful  and  useless  muscles  which 
may  result  in  a  loss  to  the  general  vitality. 
The  proper  functioning  of  what  may  be  called 
the  great  vegetative  organs,  such  as  the  heart, 
lungs,  and  the  liver  are  the  important  pre-requi- 
sites  to  health  and  long  life,  and  not  enormous 
muscles  which  are  not  put  to  constant  use.  A 
system  of  physical  training  that  devotes  ex- 
cessive attention  to  the  few  and  hence  cannot 
give  a  careful  study  to  the  necessary  all-round 


102   Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

development  of  the  many,  is  not  a  proper  system 
and  does  not  make  for  general  and  widely  dif- 
fused health  and  vigor  among  the  young. 

Adolescence 

During  the  latter  part  of  school  life  there  is 
ushered  in  a  most  interesting  period  of  physical 
and  mental  activity, — adolescence.  This  is  the 
time  of  life  that  intervenes  between  the  begin- 
ning of  puberty  and  the  full  development  of  the 
bodily  frame.  In  the  male,  this  may  occupy 
the  years  from  14  to  25,  and  in  the  female  from 
12  to  21.  In  the  early  part  of  this  period  there 
is  very  marked  nutritive  activity  which  usually 
lessens  during  the  latter  part  of  the  interval. 

Up  to  the  beginning  of  this  time  the  child 
has  lived  the  life  of  the  race,  but  now  he  begins 
to  develop  his  own  individual  life,  and  family 
traits  come  out  more  strongly.  There  is  a 
rapid  growth  of  the  body,  especially  marked  in 
certain  internal  structures,  such  as  the  bones, 
heart  and  lungs  and  reproductive  organs,  with 
increase  in  blood  pressure  and  in  general 
glandular  activity. 


The  School  Child  103 

As  growth  and  development  are  rapid  during 
adolescence,  nothing  must  be  allowed  to  conflict 
with  the  physical  nature  at  this  time.  Over- 
strain in  school  must  be  guarded  against.  It  is 
especially  desirable  that  girls  shall  not  be 
pushed  in  their  studies  at  the  beginning  of 
adolescence.  At  a  time  when  a  new  and  most 
important  life  function  is  being  established,  the 
nervous  energy  and  blood  should  not  be  diverted 
to  the  brain,  as  they  can  be  better  utilized  in 
other  parts  of  the  body  to  the  lasting  health  of 
the  child.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  in- 
fancy and  adolescence  are  the  two  most  rapidly 
formative  epochs  of  life,  and  quick  growth 
predisposes  to  all  kinds  of  disturbances. 

At  this  period  the  peculiarities  of  sex  begin  to 
manifest  themselves,  and  boys  and  girls  cease 
to  mingle  in  the  indiscriminate  way  of  early 
childhood.  Up  to  twelve  years  there  need  not 
be  much  differentiation  of  the  sexes,  but  after 
this  they  must  be  separately  considered. 

The  boys  are  apt  to  show  self-assurance,  con- 
ceit, and  many  other  evidences  of  egoism;  the 
girls  tend  more  to  idealizing  and  romantic  im- 


104  Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

ag'Inings.  Vague  aspirations  and  a  general 
restlessness  show  the  stirring  of  a  new  life  in 
the  child's  mind.  Ideals  begin  to  take  strong 
hold,  and,  although  often  crude,  prophesy  in  a 
general  way  the  future  bent  of  the  character. 
If  any  trait  is  entirely  absent  at  this  time,  it 
is  not  apt  to  be  seen  later  in  life. 

There  is  no  period  of  life  when  careful  and 
sympathetic  oversight  and  training  are  of  such 
importance.  The  emotional  nature  now  be- 
comes active,  with  varying  phases  and  mani- 
festations. Religious  and  moral  questions  may 
assume  importance,  and  it  is  the  age  of  con- 
version. 

Parents  should  study  and  guide  these  nascent 
emotions  so  that  they  will  assume  a  normal  and 
healthy  form.  This  is  especially  important 
when  the  child  tends  to  be  morbid  and  intro- 
spective. A  careful  moral  training  is  as  im- 
portant as  that  directed  toward  the  physical  and 
mental  natures.  It  is  especially  important  to 
teach  the  child  that  there  is  a  difference  between 
real  and  imaginary  conditions.  An  effort 
should  be  made  to  convert  introspection  into 


The  School  Child  105 

activity  and  at  the  same  time  to  give  some  in- 
sight into  the  realities  of  life.  This  will  be  an 
aid  in  counteracting  selfishness  as  well  as  in 
true  character  building.  The  imagination  be- 
comes very  active  at  this  time  and  care  must 
be  taken  that  it  is  fed  with  wholesome  reading 
and  environment. 


CHAPTER  IX 

MENTAL.   CULTUBB 

In  the  first  chapter  attention  has  been  called 
to  the  fact  that  in  the  human  race  evolution  is 
now  confined  to  the  brain.  In  the  modem 
struggle  for  existence,  men  fight  with  their 
brains  and  not  with  their  muscles.  At  birth, 
the  brain  although  fairly  large,  is  undeveloped 
and  watery,  especially  in  the  higher  areas. 

The  lower  portion  of  the  brain,  the  eventual 
seat  of  the  subconscious  mind,  is  quickly  acted 
on  by  all  sorts  of  physical  and  mental  stimuli. 
The  larger  muscular  actions,  such  as  move- 
ments of  the  arms  and  legs,  are  exhibited  from 
the  time  of  birth,  but  the  smaller  muscles  with 
their  finer  action,  shown  by  the  co-ordination  of 
the  fingers  and  picking  up  objects,  are  regulated 
by  brain  centres  that  are  on  a  little  higher  level. 
The  structure  of  the  brain  and  the  controlling 

1 06 


Mental  Culture  107 

forces  are  gradually  developed  from  below  up- 
ward. The  upper  brain  comes  gradually  into 
play  as  a  result  of  stimuli  and  education,  and 
the  functions  of  the  mind  begin  to  unfold.  The 
convoluted  surface  of  the  upper  brain  regulates 
the  functions  of  control  and  inhibition  which  are 
the  latest  products  of  evolution.  These  later 
functions  are  therefore  more  unstable  than  the 
lower  and  more  automatic  reflexes,  and  constant 
training  and  education  are  accordingly  re- 
quired. This  higher  brain  machinery,  with  the 
deep  convolutions  arranged  in  functional 
groups,  is  what  makes  education  produce  results 
and  also  opens  up  the  widest  possibilities.  The 
effective  use  of  the  brain  calls  for  the  best 
training  in  order  to  reach  the  highest  develop- 
ment possible  for  each  individual. 

The  motor  areas  of  the  spinal  cord  are  quite 
highly  developed  at  this  time,  but  the  sensory 
portion  is  not  functionally  active.  This  ex- 
plains many  of  the  nervous  phenomena  of  be- 
ginning life.  The  higher  cerebral  centres  exer- 
cise a  feeble  inhibition  over  the  lower  and  more 
active  motor  centres  of  the  spinal  cord.    Henice 


io8  Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

what  would  be  a  sensory  phenomenon  in  later 
life  is  a  motor  one  in  the  yomig  infant.  The 
best  example  of  this  is  seen  in  the  way  certain 
illnesses  begin.  What  is  a  sensory  symptom 
in  the  adult, — a  chill, — is  reflected  into  a  motor 
arc  and  becomes  a  convulsion  in  the  infant.  In 
its  nervous  mechanism,  the  new-bom  baby  is 
not  unlike  a  fully-developed  frog.  Pain  is  not 
active  at  this  time,  and  while  doubtless  con- 
scious of  unpleasant  sensations,  the  young  baby 
does  not  experience  pain  in  the  ordinary  sense. 
A  baby  born  without  any  brain  will  automati- 
cally cry.  By  the  end  of  the  first  year,  crying- 
may  ensue  from  a  real  feeling  of  pain. 

Just  after  birth,  the  brain  and  nerve  centres 
act  only  automatically,  or  by  reflex  action. 
Touch  and  taste  are  present  at  birth,  but  the 
baby  is  deaf  for  the  first  few  days  and  will  not 
follow  an  object  with  its  eyes  until  the  third 
week.  The  eyes  should  never  be  exposed  to 
bright  lights.  By  the  third  month,  the  baby 
reaches  out  its  arms  for  objects  and  may  recog- 
nize individuals.  The  rudiments  of  memory  are 
now  developed,  and  by  the  fourth  or  fifth  month 


Mental  Culture  109 

a  few  persons  may  be  remembered  and  recog- 
nized. It  is  not  until  the  tliird  year,  however, 
that  memory  develops  very  rapidly.  Efforts 
at  speaking  usually  begin  at  the  end  of  the 
first  year  when  single  words  may  be  uttered. 
At  the  close  of  the  second  year  short  sentences 
are  attempted. 

By  the  third  year  there  begins  to  be  the  ability 
to  draw  an  inference  and  slight  powers  of  rea- 
soning develop.  Here  is  where  education 
should  begin  to  have  an  effect,  always  remem- 
bering that  while  the  little  child's  preceptions 
and  emotions  are  active,  there  is  not  much 
volitional  power  or  self-control.  The  child 
should  be  taught  to  use  its  senses  and  muscles 
before  trying  to  cultivate  memory  or  imagina- 
tion. Precocious  children  should  not  be  pushed 
forward;  they  have  usually  over-ner\^ous  tem- 
peraments. Sometimes  bright  children  by  be- 
ing thrown  too  exclusively  into  the  society  of 
adults  become  precocious.  They  like  to  show 
off  by  exhibiting  feats  of  memory  or  special 
aptitudes,  as  in  music  or  dancing.  Their  ex- 
aggerated perceptions  soon  disappear  and  they 


no  Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

later  often  develop  into  very  commonplace  per- 
sonalities. This  is  apt  to  be  true  as  a  rule, 
although  many  real  geniuses  have  early  de- 
veloped precocity.  It  is  a  safe  rule,  however, 
that  this  tendency  should  not  be  encouraged. 
Children  who  are  self-conscious  and  always 
eager  to  occupy  the  centre  of  the  stage  need 
repression. 

In  the  early  years,  imitation  and  suggestion 
23lay  leading  parts.  At  the  end  of  infancy  and 
during  early  childhood,  the  imitative  faculties 
come  specially  into  play.  The  acts  of  older 
children,  of  adults,  and  even  of  animals,  are 
faithfully  copied  without  much  idea  of  their 
significance.  Up  to  the  age  of  seven  years, 
much  of  the  training  and  education  of  the  child 
must  come  from  imitation.  He  learns  by  imita- 
ting, and  little  escapes  his  watchful  eye.  This 
throws  a  great  responsibility  upon  parents  and 
teachers,  as  a  defective  environment  is  at  once 
reflected  by  an  observing  and  imitative  little 
child.  Up  to  the  age  of  seven,  most  of  the 
playing  of  children  is  imitative,  shown  by  the 
delight  in  dolls  and  numerous  toys  representing 


Mental  Culture  iii 

objects  in  real  life ;  but  after  this,  especially  in 
boys,  games  take  on  a  more  competitive  form, 
invohdng  muscular  exercise. 

The  little  child  being  so  imitative,  suggestion 
plays  a  very  important  part  in  training.  The 
absence  of  the  critical  faculty  at  this  time  leaves 
the  field  open  for  suggestion  to  work  with  great 
force.  Hence  in  training  the  little  child  sug- 
gestion must  be  largely  employed,  as  the  imita- 
tive faculty  allows  it  to  work  to  great  advan- 
tage. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  the  child  exhibits 
the  elemental  himian  forces  and  instincts.  Just 
as  the  emotions  are  developed  in  the  race  before 
the  reason,  so  it  is  with  children.  They  can  be 
moved  by  their  sympathies  long  before  they  can 
be  influenced  by  their  intellect.  Love  is  a  surer 
guide  for  them  than  reason.  This  is  the  secret 
of  the  success  of  many  mothers  and  of  a  few 
teachers.  The  latter,  however  are  too  apt  to 
try  to  cultivate  the  intellect  before  the  emo- 
tions and  feelings  are  considered,  and  hence 
they  often  make  a  failure  of  both. 


112  Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

Education 

The  importance  of  proper  education  is 
stressed  by  the  fact  that  the  early  impressions 
of  the  young  are  never  entirely  forgotten.  Few 
realize  the  power  of  ideas,  especially  when 
early  implanted.  The  effect  of  ideas  when  rein- 
forced by  strong  suggestion  has  an  especially 
quick  result  upon  the  plastic  mind  of  the  child. 
It  took  only  about  two  generations  of  careful 
instruction  in  State  Schools  to  cause  the  obses- 
sion of  the  superman  and  world  dominion  to 
take  hold  of  youthful  Germany  and  she  sprang 
at  the  throat  of  the  world,  although  the  older 
generation  Avas  naturally  friendly  and  law  abid- 
ing. The  Jesuit  is  usually  satisfied  if  he  can 
control  the  early  years. 

Attention  has  been  directed  to  the  fact  that 
little  children  cannot  concentrate  attention  very 
long  on  one  subject,  so  that  mental  exercises 
should  be  short  with  frequent  intercurrent  rests. 
As  a  rule,  it  is  better  for  a  child  to  be  with 
others,  as  work,  study  and  play  with  school- 
mates is  more  favorable  than  being  too  much 
alone  or  too  exclusively  with  adults. 


Mental  Culture  113 

At  the  beginning  of  mental  training  there  is 
more  of  a  tendency  to  do  too  much  rather  than 
too  little.  One  must  first  be  sure  that  all  the 
senses  can  function  properly  from  the  posses- 
sion of  sound  organs.  They  must  all  be 
properly  co-ordinated, — touch,  taste,  smell, 
sight  and  hearing.  As  touch  and  muscle  sense 
are  earliest  developed,  the  manual  part  of  train- 
ing is  important,  and  education  first  functions 
along  this  line.  The  optic  nerve  is  about  eight 
times  larger  than  the  auditory  nerve  and  it  is 
certainly  eight  times  easier  to  teach  by  sight 
than  by  hearing.  But  while  the  eye  is  the  best 
channel  for  information,  care  must  be  taken  that 
there  is  no  over-strain.  We  must  always 
remember  that  what  is  observed  by  the  eye  is 
registered  in  the  brain.  Little  children  are 
often  allowed  to  see  too  much.  All  kinds  of 
exciting  pictures  are  presented  at  the  movies, 
including  warfare,  scenes  in  foreign  lands  and 
strange  experiences  of  all  kinds.  These  are  all 
projected  on  the  sensitive  brain  of  the  child, 
and  too  early  forcing  may  mean  a  later  reaction 
in  which  the  child  pays  up  for  impressions  that 


114  Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

are  crowded  too  soon  upon  an  immature  mind. 

In  a  recent  report  upon  the  activities  of  six 
of  Cliicago's  high  schools,  it  was  stated  after 
a  questionnaire  that  87  per  cent,  of  3000  children 
attended  the  movies  from  one  to  seven  times  a 
week.  The  abnormal  character  of  many  of  the 
pictures,  including  gunmen,  criminals,  sexual 
problems  and  all  kinds  of  exciting  scenes,  can- 
not but  have  a  disastrous  effect  upon  the  young 
and  inexperienced  mind.  Properly  censored, 
however,  the  movie  has  great  educational  as 
well  as  amusement  possibilities. 

The  child  should  early  be  taught  to  think, — 
even  in  a  rudimentary  way, — and  to  think 
straight.  One  of  the  causes  of  the  confusion  of 
the  time  is  that  so  few  persons  really  think. 
They  have  not  been  taught  this  important  func- 
tion early  enough, — they  think  loosely  and  talk 
loosely.  As  so  many  absorbed  in  the  routine 
of  daily  life  do  not  seem  to  have  the  time  or  abil- 
ity to  think  a  subject  through,  a  small  number 
are  permitted  to  do  the  thinking  for  all,  fre- 
quently with  disastrous  effect.  Let  us  start  a 
saner  generation  by  training  the  opening  minds 


Mental  Culture  115 

to  accustom  themselves  to  thought.  The 
thoughtlessness  that  starts  early,  too  often 
lasts  through  life. 

Wliile  true  education  must  be  a  life  undertak- 
ing, it  is  in  the  proper  training  of  the  young 
that  this  question  assumes  its  greatest  impor- 
tance. Health  and  growth  must  both  be  con- 
sidered at  this  time,  but,  as  the  period  is  a  short 
one,  the  tendency  is  toward  over-pressure  and 
a  hurried  undertaking  of  many  things.  This 
is  a  great  evil,  but  much  of  it  might  be  avoided 
if  teachers  and  parents  had  a  truer  conception 
of  the  real  function  of  education. 

The  tendency  is  to  confuse  education 
with  mere  instruction.  The  object  of  the 
former  is  training,  that  of  the  latter 
information.  The  object  of  education  is  not 
primarily  or  solely  to  impart  knowledge ;  it  is, 
rather,  so  to  train  the  mind  that  it  will 
have  the  capacity  for  selection  and  development 
and  can  thus  put  itself  in  proper  adjustment 
with  the  larger  and  higher  life  of  the  race. 

The  object  of  instruction,  on  the  other  hand, 
is  to  store  the  mind  with  useful  and  interesting 


ii6  Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

facts.  In  the  case  of  children  there  is  apt  to 
be  too  much  instruction  and  too  little  education. 
The  pressure  that  tries  to  induce  extensive 
knowledge  is  in  danger  of  lessening  vitality 
without  giving  corresponding  power,  success 
or  happiness.  Too  many  studies  are  usually 
given  to  children,  and  this  crowding  creates  a 
serious  problem.  Not  only  is  depth  sacrificed 
to  extent  of  surface  in  this  form  of  mental 
training,  but  too  little  time  is  left  for  physical 
exercise  and  amusement. 

The  growth  of  forced  and  so-called  higher 
education  has  been  relatively  more  rapid  with 
girls  than  with  boys.  In  the  former,  the  ques- 
tion is  complicated  by  the  importance  to  them- 
selves and  the  race  of  proper  physical  and  sex- 
ual development  during  the  period  of  growth. 
At  the  time  of  maturing,  the  body  is  more  im- 
portant than  the  mind,  yet  this  is  just  the  time 
that  the  girl  is  pushed  hardest  in  her  educa- 
tional career  if  she  expects  to  pursue  a  course 
in  high  school  or  college.  The  women's  col- 
leges are  increasing  in  number  and  importance 
and  have  set  the  educational  pace,  as  in  the  case 


Mental  Culture  117 

with  the  men's  colleges.    While  no  one  of  in- 
telligence questions  the  desirability  of  a  good 
education  for  girls, — whether  the  kind  of  train- 
ing they  get  in  their  colleges  is  the  best  still 
forms  an  open  question.     The  aim  seems  to  be 
to  put  the  girls  through  the  same  educational 
hopper  as  the  boys,  irrespective  of  their  physi- 
cal and  mental  differences.     The  feminine  mind 
differs  from  the  masculine  mind,  just  as  the 
feminine  body  differs  from  the  masculine  body 
and  both,  to  a  certain  extent,  require  specialized 
training.     These  differences  have  deep-seated 
biological  causes  that  must  not  be  overlooked  in 
education.     The  fundamental  differences  in  the 
physio-psychological  make-up  of  the  sexes  must 
early  be  considered.     It  would  seem  as  if  the 
higher  education  of  young  women  might  pro- 
perly place  emphasis  on  such  subjects  as  mod- 
ern languages,  literature,  music,  hygiene, — both 
personal    and    domestic, — the     selection    and 
chemistry  of  foods,  the  care  and  training  of 
children,  the  theory  and  practice  of  modern 
charity  and  cognate  subjects,  together  with  a 
careful  physical  development.    In  a  word,  she 


Ii8   Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

should  be  educated  with  the  idea  of  becoming  a 
wife  rather  than  a  school  teacher.  The  keen- 
ness of  girls  for  higher  education  is  shown  by 
the  fact  that  they  are  beginning  to  outnumber 
the  men  in  colleges  on  a  co-educational  basis, 
and  the  girls  show  a  general  preponderance  in 
numbers  over  the  boys  in  the  high  schools  of 
New  York,  Philadelphia  and  Chicago.  In  both 
sexes  there  is  needed  a  simplification  of  the 
whole  educational  process. 

One  detail  of  school  life  that  might  be  cor- 
rected is  the  needless  prolonging  of  vacations^ 
which  tends  to  make  the  working  time  too  short 
and  strenuous.  It  would  be  better  for  health 
to  restrict  the  length  of  vacations  and  to  work 
under  less  pressure  during  the  rest  of  the  year. 
Some  reorganization  of  modern  education  at  all 
ages,  but  especially  in  the  early  years,  is  much 
to  be  desired,  and  educators  should  face  this 
problem.  It  must  primarily  be  borne  in  mind 
that  a  true  education  of  the  young  should  be 
based  upon  knowledge  of  biological,  physio- 
logical and  psychological  processes  and  carried 
on  in  conformity  to  them. 


Mental  Culture  119 

Professor  G.  Stanley  Hall  has  approached  the 
question  in  the  following  words,  ^ — ''We  are 
progressively  forgetting  that  for  the  complete 
apprenticeship  to  life,  youth  needs  repose, 
leisure,  art,  legends,  romance,  idealization,  and 
in  a  word  humanism,  if  it  is  to  enter  the  king- 
dom of  man  well  equipped  for  man's  highest 
work  in  the  world.  In  education  our  very  kin- 
dergartens, which  outnumber  those  of  any  other 
land,  by  dogma  and  hypersophistication  tend  to 
exterminate  the  naivete  that  is  the  glory  of 
childhood.  Everywhere  the  mechanical  and 
formal  triumph  over  content  and  substance, 
the  letter  over  the  spirit,  the  intellect  over 
morals,  lesson  setting  and  hearing  over  real 
teaching,  technical  over  the  essential,  informa- 
tion over  education,  marks  over  edification,  and 
method  over  matter." 

We  must  always  remember  that  the  time  for 
education  is  short.  According  to  some 
psychologists,  it  is  a  serious  fact  that  mental 
plasticity  largely  ceases  with  youth.  The  mind 
is  apt  to  be  closed  to  new  ideals  after  the  early 

1  Adolescence,  D.  Appleton  &  Co. 


120  Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

years.  While  this  may  be  an  exaggeration  in 
some  cases,  it  is  nevertheless  true  in  a  majority 
of  instances,  and  stresses  the  great  importance 
of  a  right  management  of  mental  training. 
This  means  that  correct  methods  and  ideals 
must  form  the  groundwork  for  a  structure  of 
efficiency  and  high  development. 


CHAPTER  X 

MORAL   CULTURE 

The  mental  and  moral  natures  in  their 
development  are  closely  allied.  The  conduct 
of  the  child  is  largely  influenced  by  the  tone  and 
temper  of  those  about  him.  If  a  proper  poise 
and  self  control  exists,  it  is  sure  to  be  reflected 
in  the  children.  A  cultivated  home  will  do 
more  for  the  child's  mental  and  moral  health 
than  the  formal  education  of  the  finest  schools. 

In  a  study  of  the  moral  nature  of  the  child,  we 
must  sharply  distinguish  the  essential  from  the 
nonl-essential  in  characte'r  building*.  Thus  a 
sort  of  rowdyism  due  to  an  excess  of  animal 
spirits  need  not  be  constantly  repressed,  but  any 
duplicity  must  be  instantly  noticed  and  repri- 
manded. The  gravity  of  the  latter,  however, 
depends  on  the  age.  Professor  Barnes  has 
truly  said  that  a  lie  from  a  three-year  old  is 
normal ;  from  a  six-year  old,  unimportant ;  from 

121 


122   Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

a  nine-year  old,  serious ;  from  a  twelve-year  old, 
tragic. 

If  a  point  is  once  made,  it  must  be  carried  out, 
no  matter  how  much  of  a  struggle  is  required 
and  it  is  therefore  wise  to  make  an  issue  as 
rarely  as  possible,  and  then  only  for  really 
essential  points.  The  character  of  many  a  child 
is  injured  by  querulous  rebukes,  constantly 
administered,  until  he  comes  to  be  considered  as 
a  sort  of  outlaw,  all  perhaps  for  small  offences 
that  involve  no  essential  moral  question.  A 
little  judicial  blindness  and  an  occasional  kindly 
talk,  combined  mth  efforts  to  gain  the  confidence 
and  interest  of  the  child,  and  guide  his  exuber- 
ant energy  in  proper  directions  will  do  much  to 
conserve  his  moral  and  social  self-respect. 
There  is  sometimes  danger  of  too  much  as  well 
as  too  little  discipline.  We  must  be  careful 
never  to  break  the  spirit  of  the  child.  There 
are  only  a  few  important  dogmas  that  always 
must  be  authoritatively  enforced. 

There  exists  in  many  children  a  touch  of  bar- 
barism that  is  merely  an  evidence  of  under- 
development.   Lombroso  goes  so  far  as  to  trace 


Moral  Culture  123 

certain  analogies  between  the  child  and  the 
criminal.  He  considers  that  the  germs  of  crim- 
inality are  met  with,  not  by  exception,  but 
normally  in  the  early  years  of  human  life.  As 
in  the  embryo,  there  occur  naturally  certain 
forms  that  will  be  monstrosities  in  the  adult  so 
the  child  represents  a  man  of  undeveloped  moral 
strength.  Lombroso  places  passion  and  venge- 
fulness,  vanity  and  cruelty  in  this  comparison 
between  the  child  and  the  criminal.  The  great 
criminologist  certainly  goes  too  far  in  exagger- 
ating this  analogy,  but  it  may  afford  food  for 
serious  thought  and  observation  to  those  who 
study  and  bring  up  children.  Apparent  cruelty, 
sho^\Ti  in  a  callousness  to  suffering,  is  often  seen 
in  children,  but  is  due  more  to  ignorance  and 
lack  of  experience  as  to  the  meaning  of  pain 
than  to  defective  moral  sensibility. 

The  phenomenon  of  sex  should  be  explained 
to  children  as  soon  as  they  are  old  enough  to 
understand.  By  treating  this  subject  in  a  mat- 
ter-of-fact way,  and  stripping  it  of  the  unwhole- 
some mystery  so  often  surrounding  the  facts, 
the  child  can  readily  comprehend  all  that  is 


124  Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

necessary  to  know.  Parents  are  the  proper 
ones  to  give  this  knowledge  and  they  can  pre- 
pare themselves  to  impart  it  without  much 
trouble.  They  may  start  with  explaining  the 
reproduction  of  new  life  in  the  vegetable  world 
and  thence  lead  up  to  animals  and  man.  It 
can  take  its  place  in  connection  with  general 
nature-study  which  is  always  profitable  and 
desirable  for  the  child.  All  manifestations  of 
life  on  the  physical  side  must  be  presented  in  a 
normal  manner,  so  that  nothing  unclean  may  be 
suggested.  The  handling  of  the  sex  organs, 
except  for  cleanliness,  can  be  brought  in  here  in 
a  natural  manner  and  linked  up  with  general 
hygiene.  In  this  way  one  can  avoid  a  sugges- 
tion that  might  prove  undesirable.  Children 
often  know  more  on  these  subjects  than  their 
parents  think,  although  in  a  distorted,  unwhole- 
some form.  Their  views  must  be  clarified,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  they  can  be  taught  the  bad 
results  of  evil  habits.  Most  children  wish  to  be 
strong  and  excel  in  sports,  and  an  appeal  can  be 
made  from  this  angle  to  avoid  whatever  will 
lessen  health  and  vigor. 


Moral  Culture  125 

Much  of  our  physical,  mental,  and  even  moral 
health  depends  on  the  proper  functioning  of  the 
endocrine  glands, — sometimes  known  as  the 
glands  of  internal  secretion.  Many  of  the 
chemical  reactions  so  necessary  to  bodily  health 
are  produced  or  controlled  by  these  glands. 
The  thyroids,  adrenals,  pituitary  bodies  and 
other  similar  glands  produce  hormones  (mes- 
sengers) that  are  carried  by  the  bloodstream 
to  all  parts  of  the  body  and  produce  marked 
physical  and  mental  effects.  Some  biologists 
believe  that  the  endocrines  have  a  large  influence 
upon  the  heredity  and  development  of  man.  It 
is  known  that  certain  forms  of  feeble-minded- 
ness  are  produced  by  a  lack  of  some  internal 
secretion,  and  in  one  variety, — the  Cretin, — ^by 
giving  thyi'oid  by  mouth,  the  body  and  mind  are 
both  re-invigorated.  Some  even  believe  that 
certain  criminals  are  really  gland-victims.  On 
the  other  hand,  strong  emotion  will  quickly 
affect  these  secretions.  Sudden  fear  will  have 
a  marked  effect  upon  the  thyroid  and  adrenal 
glands,  and  courage,  as  shown  in  the  excitement 
of    battle,    calls    forth    the    secretion    of    the 


126  Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

adrenals.  There  is  a  constant  chemical  read- 
justment going  on  in  the  body  by  the  interaction 
of  these  various  glands;  not  only  mental  con- 
ditions, but  the  very  architecture  of  the 
body  is  largely  influenced  by  them.  Thus  both 
giants  and  dwarfs  are  largely  developed  by  the 
irregular  action  of  the  pituitary  gland.  Like 
other  phenomena  of  life,  the  harmonious  action 
of  these  mysterious  and  powerful  glands,  are 
best  set  in  motion  by  healthy  growth  at  the  be- 
ginning. The  early  development  of  self-control 
will  have  beneficial  effects  all  through  life  on 
these  important  glands. 

With  reference  to  actual  delinquency,  child- 
hood traits  must  be  early  watched  and  correc- 
tive measures  at  once  applied  to  all  moral 
lapses.  It  is  believed  that  criminals  are  always 
made  before  the  age  of  twenty-one.  They  must 
therefore  be  caught  and  reformed  early  if  at  all. 
Many  years  ago.  Dr.  Ales  Hrdlicka,  the  anthro- 
pologist, at  my  request  made  a  careful  exami- 
nation of  1000  inmates  of  the  New  York  Juve- 
nile Asylum.  These  children  were  committed 
to  the  asylum  by  the  courts  for  petty  crimes  or 


Moral  Culture  127 

gross  neglect  on  the  part  of  the  parents.  In  his 
conclusions,  he  stated  that  when  the  children 
were  admitted  to  the  institution,  they  were  al- 
most invariably  in  some  way,  both  morally  and 
physically,  inferior  to  healthy  children  from 
good  social  classes  at  large.  A  closer  observa- 
tion, however,  revealed  the  fact  that  the  inferi- 
orities of  the  children  who  became  inmates  of 
the  Juvenile  Asylum  were  in  the  majority  of 
cases  only  the  results  of  neglect,  or  of  improper 
nutrition,  or  of  both  these  causes  combined. 
Many  of  the  children  were  more  or  less  neglec- 
ted, or  spoiled,  or  less  developed  or  strong  than 
they  should  be ;  but  a  really  inferior  child,  that 
is,  an  inherently  vicious,  or  an  imbecile  child, 
or  a  child  who  could  not  be  much  improved  by 
better  food  and  better  hygienic  surroundings, 
was  a  very  rare  exception. 

This  constitutes  a  striking  demonstration  of 
the  effect  of  early  neglect  and  the  possibilities 
of  regeneration. 

The  best  way  to  eliminate  evil  is  to  stress  the 
good  in  every  individual.  By  filling  life  with 
activities  that  enlist  the  interest  of  the  child 


128   Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

there  will  be  neither  time  nor  opportunity  for 
the  lower  traits  to  develop.  Let  their  energies 
be  directed  toward  a  constructive  and  creative 
outlet. 

Some  children  have  to  be  taught  to  play,  as 
they  seem  lacking  in  initiative  in  this  direction; 
organized  play  may  have  a  favorable  mental 
and  moral  effect.  Let  us  start  right  in  this 
direction  as  the  habit  of  happiness  may  then 
continue  into  after  life.  It  may  well  be  that 
vigorous  play  in  the  growing  years  can  have  an 
influence  on  the  prolongation  of  life  and  the  pre- 
vention of  degenerative  diseases;  also  to  raise 
the  question  as  to  whether  our  unsatisfactory 
organization  of  leisure  life,  through  which 
people  get  no  real  self-expression,  may  not  have 
something  to  do  with  the  wide  extent  of  func- 
tional nervous  disorders. 

Children  of  the  well-to-do  should  early  be 
taught  to  sympathize  with  misfortune  and 
extend  aid  where  possible.  Even  a  small 
knowledge  of  the  hard  life  conditions  that  sur- 
round so  many  people  will  tend  to  eliminate 
the  innate  selfishness  that  is  so  common  among 


Moral  Culture  129 

our  better-favored  youth.  A  cultivation  of  the 
moral  nature  should  be  started  early  and  con- 
tinued all  through  the  developing  period.  The 
child  can  soon  recognize  the  difference  between 
right  and  wrong  and  this  vital  distinction  must 
be  both  taught  and  enforced. 

Finally,  a  careful  religious  training,  when 
freed  from  obsolete  dogmas,  will  be  most  help- 
ful in  developing  the  best  character  attainable. 
A  simple,  rational  faith  in  the  moral  order  of 
the  world  and  in  a  Supreme  Being  who  is 
working  by  the  laws  of  nature  and  life  for  the 
ultimate  good  of  the  race  can  early  be  incul- 
cated. This  will  start  a  sense  of  responsibility 
that  will  develop  with  later  years. 

It  is  unfortunate  that  the  spiritual  life  of 
children  should  be  so  often  neglected  by  parents 
and  teachers.  As  a  result,  too  often  we  are 
raising  a  lot  of  lusty  young  pagans  who,  as  they 
grow  up,  like  Gallio,  will  "care  for  none  of  these 
things."  No  one  quicker  than  the  child  reacts 
to  the  widespread  materialism  of  the  day.  It 
is  a  strange  fact  that  while  materialism  is  grow- 
ing stronger  as  a  social  force,  it  is  losing  ground 


130   Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

as  an  interpretation  of  life  to  the  thinking 
classes.  Here  is  a  chance  for  the  coming  gener- 
ation to  be  given  a  truer  orientation  of  life  than 
commonly  exists  at  present.  It  is  wise  to  start 
early  in  teaching  the  eternal  verities  and  the 
simpler  the  faith,  the  easier  it  will  be  to 
inculcate. 

The  so-called  ages  of  faith  have  passed,  never 
to  return.  We  need  not  unduly  grieve  over  this 
since  they  were  likewise  ages  of  ignorance  and 
superstition.  Yet  never  has  the  necessity  of 
strong  and  simple  belief  been  greater  than  at 
present.  Careful  observers  of  life  cannot 
help  noticing  that  as  faith  lessens,  actual  living 
is  apt  to  weaken  and  degenerate.  This  rule  is 
true  in  spite  of  the  few  apparent  exceptions 
where  a  heredity  of  strong  character  steadies  a 
life  that  has  lost  belief.  Religion  best  fur- 
nishes what  psychologists  might  call  the  sustain- 
ing motive  to  right  actions  and  a  correct  life. 
Only  a  few  fundamental  religious  truths  are 
really  necessary  to  nourish  the  higher  life. 
Let  them  be  carefully  implanted  in  the  opening 
mind  rather  than  trying  to  teach  doctrines  that 


Moral  Culture  131 

were  evidently  developed  largely  out  of  social 
conditions  existing  when  they  were  formulated. 
The  danger  of  unreal  beliefs  being  early  taught 
is  that,  with  the  age  of  intellectual  awakening, 
the  true  as  well  as  the  false  in  religion  may  be 
thrown  aside. 

The  little  child  will  be  the  ultimate  judge  of 
the  world ;  before  his  problems  and  questionings 
most  plans  of  philosophy,  codes  of  ethics  and 
systems  of  theology  somehow  prove  stumbling, 
inadequate  and  unworkable. 

The  age  needs  a  great  voice  that  will  find  a 
way  between  the  gnostic  and  the  agnostic  in 
developing  the  religious  and  spiritual  life  of  the 
future.  Perhaps  some  child  of  the  present  day 
will  later  furnish  this  voice. 


CHAPTER  XI 


NEBVE   CULTUEE 


We  seem  to  have  struck  an  era  of  ''nerves." 
Large  numbers  of  men  and  women  show  a  nerv- 
ous instability  that  often  has  its  roots  in  de- 
fective training  and  example  during  the  open- 
ing years.  Early  education  and  control  are 
necessary  to  check  this  growing  tendency. 

Probably  more  trouble  is  produced  in  the 
world  by  neurotics  than  by  criminals.  The  for- 
mer do  not  react  in  a  normal  and  healthy  man- 
ner to  the  stimuli  of  their  environment  and  are 
easily  maladjusted  in  all  their  relationships. 
These  persons  drift  from  neurologist  to  quack, 
from  astrologer  to  osteopath,  and  usually  end 
in  one  of  the  happiness  cults  whose  followers 
spend  their  time  in  joyously  dodging  obligations 
and  realities.  Numerous  imaginary  diseases 
are  constantly  encountered  and  cured  by  imagi- 
nary remedies.    Not  a  few  obscure  illnesses 

132 


Nerve  Culture  133 

are  really  due  to  what  the  psychologists  call  a 
defense  reaction  in  men  and  women,  especially 
the  latter,  who  fail  to  adjust  themselves  to  their 
surroundings.  They  have  an  inner  feeling  of 
inadequacy  and  unconsciously  fall  back  on  some 
functional  and  obscure  nervous  trouble  as  a  way 
of  escape.  The  only  thing  that  will  really  and 
permanently  help  these  neurotics, — re-educa- 
tion,— is  overlooked.  Perhaps  it  is  too  hard 
and  honest  for  trial. 

It  is  much  more  hopeful  to  try  to  check  this 
tendency  at  the  beginning  by  proper  educa- 
tion. The  earliest  years  are  the  impressionable 
ones;  intellectual  and  emotional  instability  can 
get  a  good  start  at  this  time.  While  it  is  gener- 
ally thought  that  heredity  is  responsible  for  ner- 
vous instability,  I  believe  the  condition  is 
oftener  due  to  faulty  en\dronment  during  the 
early  years.  According  to  Freud,  the  neurotic 
is  manufactured  before  the  age  of  six  years. 

Modem  psychology  has  explained,  to  a  cer- 
tain extent,  how  these  phenomena  arise.  What 
are  known  as  complexes  may  consist  of  certain 
groups  of  co-ordinated  motions  called  into  play 


134  Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

by  various  actions,  as  in  violin  playing;  again, 
they  may  comprise  groups  of  ideas  or  emo- 
tions. By  constant  repetition,  these  motor 
or  psychic  groupings  become  fixed  into  habit. 
It  is  in  the  subconscious  mind  that  complexes 
oftenest  remain,  as  it  were,  concealed  until 
brought  into  play.  A  complex  may  not  exist  in 
the  conscious  mind  at  all ;  it  may  of tener  be  in 
the  subconscious  mind,  only  waiting  for  certain 
experiences  or  influences  to  bring  it  forth. 
These  connected  ideas  are  often  joined  with 
emotional  conditions  that  have  a  marked  effect 
on  action  or  conduct.  The  whole  character 
may  often  be  influenced  by  combinations  of  com- 
plexes. 

A  large  number  of  subconscious  ideas  and 
complexes  are  acquired  during  the  first  years 
of  life.  They  may  form  the  roots  of  obscure 
ailments  that  will  |be  carried  on  into  later 
years.  Thus  neurotics  are  made  by  conditions 
that  usually  have  their  origin  in  childhood, 
forming  compulsions  and  inhibitions  that  trail 
along  through  after  life.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
believe  with  the  Freudians  that  there  is  always 


Nerve  Culture  135 

a  sexual  genesis  of  disturbing  complexes,  al- 
though this  element  is  doubtless  frequently 
present.  Strong  impressions  or  emotions  of 
jany  kind  may  have  a  lasting  effect.  Suppres- 
sions and  repressions  are  too  frequently  em- 
ployed and  may  result  in  an  imbalance  of  char- 
acter. Undesirable  trends  in  infancy  and  child- 
hood may  land  an  adult  in  an  unenviable  mental 
condition.  Dr.  Spaulding  states  that  too  great 
attention  cannot  be  given  to  such  factors,  par- 
ticularly in  the  first  five  years  of  life,  since  it 
is  being  recognized  more  and  more  that  it  is  in 
the  earliest  years  that  the  great  tragedies  occur 
that  tend  to  warp  seriously  the  individual 
expression  of  energy  of  later  years. 

Grief,  fear,  worry,  anger,  apprehension  and 
emotional  shocks  may  become  fixed  and  form 
the  early  beginnings  of  what  will  eventually 
lead  to  individual  and  social  maladjustments. 
We  must  be  especially  careful  not  to  implant 
fear  in  the  developing  mind  of  the  young. 
The  nervous  child  is  especially  liable  to  become 
maladjusted  in  the  emotional  field.  Although 
many  disturbing  experiences  in  the  young  child's 


136  Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

mental  and  moral  life  may  be  long  forgotten, 
their  effects  are  held  in  the  subconscious  mind, 
and  it  may  be  years  before  a  submerged  emo- 
tion finds  outlet  in  an  indirect  or  surprising 
manifestation.  An  emotion  or  feeling  sup- 
pressed in  one  way  may  find  '' sublimation,"  ac- 
cording to  the  psychologists,  in  an  entirely  dif- 
ferent direction. 

All  this  emphasizes  the  importance  of  early 
training.  It  is  much  better  and  easier  to  try 
to  form  good  habits  than  reform  bad  ones. 

Fathers  and  mothers  with  unstable  character 
and  flighty  moods  will  find  their  children  devel- 
oping the  same  characteristics  from  imitation. 
Fussy,  neurotic  parents  must  realize  their  re- 
sponsibility and  try  to  control  their  nervous  in- 
stability for  the  sake  of  their  children  if  not  for 
themselves.  Children  must  be  guarded,  as  far 
as  possible,  from  severe  emotional  shocks. 
Their  lives  must  be  made  as  happy  as  circum- 
stances will  permit.  The  play  instinct  should 
always  be  developed.  It  must  be  remembered 
that  apparent  egoism  or  intense  shyness  may 
be  only  manifestations  of  defense  reactions. 


Nerve  Culture  137 

The  child  must  be  encouraged  in  developing  his 
natural  qualities,  and  efforts  should  be  made 
to  bring  out  the  best  in  him.  Perhaps  the 
mother  can  most  satisfactorily  control  the  emo- 
tions and  direct  the  will,  and  the  father  see  that 
self-reliance  is  cultivated.  A  normal,  happy- 
family  life  will  best  fit  the  child  to  make  proper 
adjustments  to  the  varying  environment  of  later 
years.  Finally,  the  child  cannot  too  early  be 
taught  to  face  reality  and  learn  to  appreciate  the 
fact  that  life  is  a  process  of  adjustment. 


CHAPTER  Xn 

THE   IMPORTANCE   OF    PROPER    NUTRITION" 

The  great  importance  of  good  nutrition  dur- 
ing the  developmental  years  cannot  be  over- 
estimated. At  this  time  the  structure  of  the 
body,  including  the  most  vital  tissues,  is  be- 
ing built  up  and  the  organism  thus  formed 
must  serve  for  the  whole  of  life.  If  proper 
growth  does  not  take  place  during  the  period 
of  natural  development,  no  later  compensation 
is  possible. 

At  this  time,  a  double  function  of  nutrition 
is  required,  first,  that  of  growth,  and  second 
that  of  maintenance  or  keeping  the  body  in 
operation.  By  the  latter  is  meant  a  supply  of 
energy  and  heat,  and  as  the  child  by  its  growth 
and  activity  bums  up  more  fuel  than  the  adult, 
it  is  doubly  important  to  supply  a  sufficiency 
of  proper  food  to  serve  as  fuel.    Hence,  at 

138 


Proper  Nutrition  139 

this  time  a  carefully  balanced  diet  is  very  es- 
sential. 

The  great  variety  of  articles  in  use  as  food 
all  contain  only  a  few  essential  principles, 
— proteins,  mineral  matter,  fats,  carbohydrates 
and  water,  the  latter  constituting  a  large  pro- 
portion of  all  foods.  These  different  substances 
when  taken  into  the  body  have  various  functions 
to  perform.  The  proteins  and  mineral  matter 
are  used  in  the  growth  and  repair  of  the  body ; 
the  fats  supply  heat  and  energy  and  are  de- 
posited in  the  tissues  for  form  and  contour; 
the  carbohydrates  also  supply  heat  and  energy, 
and  may  be  changed  into  fat  in  the  system ;  the 
water  gives  bulk  and  solvent  properties  to  the 
various  tissues. 

These  food  principles  are  found  in  a  variety 
of  foims  and  combinations.  Protein  exists  as 
lean  meat,  the  curd  of  milk,  fish,  poultry,  eggs, 
cheese,  beans,  barley,  oatmeal  and  the  gluten 
of  flour.  The  mineral  matter  consists  largely 
of  earthy  salts,  such  as  phosphate  of  lime  and 
compounds  of  magnesium,  sodium,  potassium 
and  iron.    These  substances  are  usually  taken 


140  Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

into  the  body  in  combination  with  the  proteins. 
The  fats  are  seen  incorporated  with  meats,  or 
as  lard,  butter,  the  cream  of  milk  and  vegetable 
oils.  Carbohydrates  are  the  various  starches 
and  sugars  that  are  combined  in  cereals,  pota- 
toes, flour  and  vegetables. 

It  has  recently  been  found  that  growth  takes 
place  not  only  from  the  chemical  ingredients  of 
foods  but  from  mysterious  substances  known  as 
vitamines.  If  these  substances  are  absent  from 
foods,  growth  and  nutrition  will  fail  and  cer- 
tain deficiency  diseases,  such  as  rickets  or 
scurvy  will  result.  Although  these  living  enti- 
ties may  be  present  only  in  most  minute  traces, 
they  are  necessary  factors  in  nutrition  if  health 
is  to  be  preserved.  Thus  no  diet  should  be  con- 
tinued that  does  not  contain  one  or  more  of  the 
foods  producing  vitamines.  The  several  varie- 
ties and  the  foods  containing  them  have  been 
divided  into  three  classes, — (A.)  Vitamines 
soluble  in  fat,  included  in  butter,  eggs,  cod 
liver  oil,  fat  fish,  lean  meat,  lettuce,  spinach, 
fresh  carrots,  cabbage,  and  the  germ  of  cereals ; 
(B.)   Vitamines  soluble  in  water,  included  in 


Proper  Nutrition  141 

milk,  eggs,  lean  meat,  liver  and  various  other 
glands,  potatoes,  cabbage,  carrots,  lettuce,  tur- 
nips, nuts,  wheat  bran,  the  germ  of  cereals, 
apples,  oranges,  lemons,  grapes,  tomatoes, 
yeast;  (C.)  Vitamines  that  prevent  scurvy,  also 
soluble  in  water,  included  in  lean  meat,  liver, 
beef  juice,  cows^  milk,  cabbage,  tomatoes,  tur- 
nips, cresses,  lettuce,  apples,  oranges,  fresh 
lime  juice,  lemon  juice,  raspberries.  Vitamine 
(A)  is  not  much  affected  by  heat,  vitamine  (B) 
should  not  be  subjected  to  heat  above  the  boil- 
ing point  of  water,  and  vitamine  (C)  is  de- 
stroyed by  heat  and  alkalies.  For  this  reason, 
when  all  the  milk  given  to  infants  and  little 
children  is  preserved  by  heat,  some  fruit  juice 
should  be  added  to  the  dietary.  It  is  always 
desirable  to  preserve  the  water  in  which  vege- 
tables are  cooked  so  that  the  vitamines  may  be 
retained. 

The  vitamine  problem  is  naturally  more  im- 
portant during  the  growing  period  than  later  in 
life,  as  proper  development  cannot  take  place 
in  their  absence.  A  mixed  diet  containing  a 
variety  of  the  above-mentioned  foods  will  al- 


142   Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

ways  insure  a  sufficient  supply,  and  it  is  hence 
not  necessary  to  rely  on  any  of  the  numerous 
proprietary  preparations  now  flooding  the  mar- 
ket. 

Milk  is  the  universal  food  of  all  young  mam- 
mals. It  is  the  only  food  in  nature  that  is  com- 
plete in  itself ;  it  contains  all  the  necessary  ele- 
ments for  growth  as  well  as  those  required  for 
heat  and  energy  production  in  a  most  digestible 
and  absorbable  form.  While  every  species  of 
mammalian  young  is  perfectly  nourished  by  the 
milk  of  its  own  mother,  the  food  elements  are 
present  in  varying  proportions  in  different 
species,  this  depending  largely  on  the  rapidity 
of  growth  of  the  offspring;  hence  milks  of 
one  species  require  some  alteration  before  be- 
ing given  to  the  young  of  another  species. 

In  addition  to  nutrition,  milk  has  properties 
which  no  other  food  possesses.  It  is  fluid  when 
secreted  but  when  taken  into  the  body  it  is 
changed  from  a  liquid  into  a  semi-solid  sub- 
stance under  the  action  of  the  secretions  of 
the  stomach.  This  seems  to  have  the  function 
of  training  the  growing  stomach  to  utilize  solid 


Proper  Nutrition  143 

food  when  it  is  more  fully  developed.  This  is 
due  to  a  process  of  coagulation  that  takes  place 
in  one  of  the  ingredients — the  protein — which 
always  alters  the  form  of  the  milk  when  taken 
into  the  stomach.  While  a  certain  amount  of 
protein  is  present  in  the  milks  of  all  animals 
and  is  necessar^^  for  tissue  building  and  growth, 
this  protein  must  not  only  be  coagulable  but 
must  curd  in  a  certain  specific  way  in  each 
species  of  animal  for  the  proper  evolution  of 
different  digestive  tracts.  As  nutrition  is  the 
basis  of  all  physical  life,  we  see  how  important 
a  function  milk  performs  at  the  very  beginning 
of  existence  in  developing  and  preparing  the 
digestive  tract  for  the  digestion  and  assimila- 
tion of  food  that  must  nourish  it  in  later  life. 
Some  years  ago  I  brought  out  this  fact  that 
milk  through  its  protein  has  a  developmental 
as  well  as  a  nutritive  function  to  perform.^ 
The  higher  mortality  following  bottle  feeding 
is  not  the  only  reason  in  favor  of  maternal  nurs- 
ing. In  feeding  the  infant  with  milk  from  an- 
other species — the  cow — we  are  putting  a  hard 

1  The  Scientific  Monthly,  January,  1916. 


144   Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

curdling  milk  into  a  stomach  intended  and 
adapted  for  soft,  flocculent  curds.  This  is  the 
cause  of  much  indigestion  and  such  substitu- 
tion fails  to  carry  out  one  of  the  functions  that 
milk  was  intended  to  perform  in  the  scheme  of 
evolution, — namely,  in  each  species  to  specially 
develop  certain  parts  of  the  gastro-intestinal 
tract  that  must  later  on  perform  most  of  the 
work  of  digestion. 

Every  effort  should  be  made  to  have  the 
mother  nurse  her  infant,  especially  during  the 
first  months.  If  this  were  done,  there  would 
not  only  be  a  distinct  lowering  of  infant  mor- 
tality but  a  more  vigorous  life  would  be  insured. 
It  is  only  necessary  to  note  here  that  while 
the  general  infant  mortality  has  been  largely 
reduced,  that  occurring  during  the  first  month 
of  life  has  not  yet  been  lowered.  Since  milk  is 
the  only  food  that  supplies  all  the  ingredients 
required  in  the  building  up  of  bones,  muscles 
and  other  tissues,  and  in  the  proportions  and 
conditions  required  by  each  species,  the  natural 
milk  is  best  supplied  to  the  baby  by  its  own 


Proper  Nutrition  145 

mother.  The  important  mineral  ingredients, 
especially  lime,  so  necessary  in  bone  building, 
are  also  most  efficiently  supplied  by  mother's 
milk. 

The  conservation  of  the  milk  of  a  healthy 
mother  is  of  such  great  importance  for  the  in- 
fant that  every  effort  should  be  made  to  utihze 
it.  We  must  first  see  that  the  breast  is  thor- 
oughly emptied  at  each  nursing,  as  this  stimu- 
lates the  secretion.  If  only  a  little  milk  is  se- 
creted, give  what  is  there  at  each  feeding  and 
then  at  once  supplement  by  the  bottle.  The 
regular  use  of  the  breast  soon  stimulates  to 
better  action.  We  must  also  furnish  the  mother 
with  plenty  of  food  that  will  supply  materials 
best  suited  for  making  milk  and  which  are  rich 
in  vitamines.  The  best  source  of  the  materials 
needed  for  making  milk  in  the  cow  is  the  her- 
baceous plants.  When  the  spring  grass  ap- 
pears, cows  produce  the  best  milk  and  in  the 
greatest  quantities.  These  herbaceous  plants 
are  the  original  source  of  vitamines.  They  are 
also  found  in  the  germs  or  embryos  of  the  grass 


146   Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

seeds.  The  nursing  mother  should  drink  milk, 
also  broths  made  from  green  leaves,  such  as 
spinach,  lettuce,  celery  tops,  onion  or  beet  tops. 
A  porridge  or  gruel  made  from  cereals  contain- 
ing the  germs  will  also  be  found  of  much  value. 
Meat  is  desirable  and  should  usually  be  taken 
twice  daily.  Sufficient  rest  should  also  be 
enjoined;  a  restless,  disturbed  night  will  have 
a  marked  effect  upon  the  secretion  of  mothers^ 
milk.  The  importance  of  all  this  will  be  realized 
from  the  fact  that  over  80  per  cent,  of  the  babies 
dying  before  the  completion  of  the  first  year 
are  bottle-fed. 

When  cows'  milk  has  to  be  entirely  substi- 
tuted, the  greatest  care  in  its  collection  and  dis- 
tribution must  be  exercised.  An  extra  quality 
of  cow's  milk  known  as  ''certified  milk"  is 
now  procurable  in  many  communities  and  is 
preferable  for  babies.  The  exact  formula 
and  the  method  of  diluting  and  preparing 
cow's  milk  for  babies  at  different  ages  should 
be  regulated  by  a  skilful  physician  who  can 
manage  each  case  according  to  individual 
needs. 


Proper  Nutrition  147 

After  the  nursing  period  is  over,  the  hours 
and  methods  of  feeding  are  very  important  for 
good  nutrition,  as  well  as  the  selection  of  proper 
food.  The  value  of  eating  slowly  must  early 
be  stressed,  as  most  children  and  many  adults 
get  in  the  habit  of  bolting  their  food.  A  few 
minutes  rest  before  and  after  eating  will  do 
much  to  build  up  a  vigorous  digestion.  Dur- 
ing the  school  recess,  lunch  is  often  hastily 
bolted  in  order  to  have  more  time  for  engaging 
in  play.  Children  may  sometimes  be  seen  in 
games  involving  violent  exercise,  with  a  sand- 
wich in  one  hand,  from  which  hasty  bites  are 
taken  during  a  lull  in  the  game.  The  school 
day  should  be  so  arranged  that  a  hot,  nourish- 
ing dinner  may  be  served  during  the  noon  hour. 
The  heavy  meal  of  the  day  should  be  given  at 
this  time  to  little  children.  Much  of  the  mal- 
nutrition among  school  children  is  caused  by 
faulty  arrangement  of  meals  due  to  prolonged 
or  inconvenient  school  hours.  Children  should 
also  early  be  taught  to  eat  plain,  wholesome 
food.  Habits  and  tastes  formed  in  the  first 
years  have  much  to  do  with  food  customs  last- 


148  Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

ing  all  through  life,  and  children  should  thus 
be  taught  to  live  on  simple,  nutritious  and,  if 
necessary,  inexpensive  foods.  This  should 
form  part  of  their  education.  The  palate  must 
be  educated  as  well  as  the  brain. 

The  food  given  little  children  is  often  too  soft. 
Hard,  gritty  substances  are  needed  to  exercise 
the  teeth  and  develop  the  jaws.  Too  many 
sweets  and  sugary  substances  also  affect  the 
mouth  as  well  as  the  digestive  tract.  These 
conditions  favor  early  decay  of  the  teeth,  which 
does  not  occur  among  the  lower  animals.  Ac- 
cording to  modern  studies,  the  mouth  assumes 
great  importance  in  the  economy  of  digestion 
and  assimilation.  It  is  likewise  the  source  of 
some  focal  infections  that  may  affect  distant 
parts  of  the  body. 

After  considering  the  time  and  manner  of  eat- 
ing, all  that  remains  is  to  be  sure  that  a  properly 
balanced  diet  containing  all  the  necessary  in- 
gredients for  growth  and  development  is  given 
the  child.  The  following  is  a  convenient  classi- 
fication found  in  Farmers'  Bulletin,  No.  808  of 
the  U.  S.  Government. 


Proper  Nutrition  149 

FOODS   DEPEinJED    ON    FOB   MINE&AX   MATTEBS,   VEGETABLE    ACIDS, 
AND    BODY-BEGUIATING    SUBSTANCES 

Fruits :  Vegetables  ; 

Apples,  pears,  etc.  Salads — lettuce,  celery, 

Bananas.  etc. 

Berries.  Potherbs  or  "greens." 

Melons.  Potatoes       and       root 

Oranges,  lemons,  etc.  vegetables. 

Green  peas,  beans,  etc. 
Tomatoes,  squash,  etc. 

FOODS  DEPENDED  ON  FOR  PROTEIN 

Milk,  skim  milk,  cheese,  Fish. 

etc.  Dried    peas,   beans,   cow- 
Eggs,  peas,  etc. 

Meat.  Nuts. 
Poultry. 

FOODS  DEPENDEa)  ON  FOB  STAECH 

Cereal      grains,      meals.  Macaroni       and       other 

Hours,  etc.  pastes. 

Cereal  breakfast  foods.  Cakes,    cookies,    etarchy 


Bread. 

puddings,  etc. 

Crackers. 

Potatoes        and        other 

starchy  vegetables. 

FOODS  DEPENDED  ON  FOB  SUGAR 

Sugar. 

Candies. 

Molasses. 

Fruits    preserved   in   su- 

Syrups. 

gar,       jellies,       and 

Houey. 

dried  fruits. 

Sweet  cakes  and  desserts. 

FOODS  DEPENDED  ON  FOB  FAT 

Butter  and  ( 

}ream.                                  Salt  pork  and  bacon. 

Lard,     suet. 

and     other                      Table  and  salad  oils. 

cooking 

fats. 

A  child  should  receive  one  food  at  least  from 
the  following  groups  every  day : 

1.  Milk  and  dishes  made  chiefly  of  milk  (most 
important  of  the  group  as  regards  chil- 
dren's diet) ;  meat,  fish,  poultry,  eggs,  and 
meat  substitutes. 


150   Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

2.  Bread  and  other  cereal  foods.     Starchy 
vegetables,  as  potatoes. 

3.  Butter  and  other  wholesome  fats. 

4.  Green  vegetables  and  fruits. 

5.  Simple  sweets. 

Calories  as  Measures  of  Food  Values 

The  human  body,  like  the  automobile,  is  run 
as  an  internal  combustion  engine.  Energy  may 
be  conveniently  measured  in  terms  of  heat, 
the  calorie  or  heat  unit,  being  used  for  this  pur- 
pose. A  calorie  is  the  quantity  of  heat  re- 
quired to  raise  the  temperature  of  one  liter  of 
water  one  degree  centigrade,  or  very  nearly  the 
amount  of  heat  required  to  raise  the  tempera- 
ture of  one  pound  of  water  from  0°  to  4°  F. 
While  all  nutrients  are  possible  sources  of 
energy,  the  body  should  depend  upon  fats  and 
carbohydrates  as  energy-producing  foods, 
rather  than  upon  protein,  which  has  tissue  build- 
ing functions  not  possessed  by  the  other  nutri- 
ents. Moreover,  fats  are  more  efficient  sources 
of  energy  than  either  protein  or  carbohydrates. 


Proper  Nutrition  151 

It  has  been  estimated  that  for  every  100  calories, 
about  10  per  cent,  should  be  produced  from  pro- 
teins, 30  per  cent,  from  fats,  and  60  per  cent, 
from  carbohydrates.  ^Tiile  foods  yielding 
about  2500  calories  a  day  are  required  by  aver- 
age adults  in  sedentary  pursuits,  growing  chil- 
dren may  require  3000  to  4000  calories,  or  even 
more,  during  adolescence. 

It  is  not  wise,  however,  to  put  too  much  em- 
phasis on  calories  in  measuring  nutritional 
needs.  Heat  measurement  alone  is  not  always 
a  safe  guide  for  the  calculation  of  food  values. 
This  is  especially  true  at  the  beginning  of  life 
when  growth  is  the  all  important  factor.  The 
foods  that  build  rather  than  those  that  readily 
undergo  oxidation  must  be  properly  gauged  if 
we  are  to  have  healthy  development.  This 
means  that  the  great  protein  suppliers, — meat, 
eggs,  fish,  milk  and  cereals, — must  have  an  im- 
portant place  in  the  dietary.  An  ounce  of  lean 
meat,  furnishing  34  calories,  contains  6.  4  grams 
of  protein ;  an  ounce  of  hominy,  furnishing  103 
calories,  contains  only  2.  3  grams  of  protein. 


152  Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

Therefore,  the  meat,  although  weak  in  calories, 
contains  three  times  the  tissue  building  material 
found  in  the  hominy. 

Trial,  experience  and  results,  rather  than 
mere  theorj^,  must  prove  the  final  test  of  the 
utility  of  any  plan  of  nutrition. 

Under-Nourished  Children 

Attention  has  recently  been  directed  to  the 
large  number  of  growing  children  who  are  suf- 
fering from  various  grades  of  mal-nutrition. 
This  condition  is  not  confined  to  any  one  class 
since  it  is  seen  as  often  among  the  well-to-do 
as  among  the  poor.  We  are  largely  indebted  to 
Dr.  William  E.  P.  Emerson  of  Boston  for  an 
investigation  of  this  subject.  These  children 
are  often  anemic,  languid,  easily  fatigued, 
highly  nervous  or  irritable,  and  do  not  seem 
to  fit  in  well  with  their  environment.  The  con- 
dition is  often  caused  by  faulty  habits  of  eating 
as  well  as  by  badly  regulated  diets.  The  im- 
mediate effect  is  not  only  disastrous,  but  mal- 
nutrition at  this  time  is  the  cause  of  many  ills 
in  later  life.    According  to  tests  made  in  vari- 


Proper  Nutrition 


153 


ous  localities,  Dr.  Emerson  believes  that  from 
20  to  40  per  cent,  of  children  at  the  pre-school 
and  school  age  in  this  country  show  physical 
and  mental  signs  of  mal-nutrition.  One  of  the 
surest  methods  of  recognizing  this  condition 
consists  in  observing  the  relation  between 
weight  and  height,  as  children  who  are  habitu- 
ally underweight  for  their  height  may  usually 
be  considered  as  under-nourished.  In  consider- 
ing what  range  of  variation  may  be  compatible 
with  health,  10  per  cent,  of  under  weight  is  taken 
as  a  working  hypothesis  by  Dr.  Emerson,  as 
shown  in  the  following  table, — 


Height 

Average 

10% 

Average 

10% 

Inches 

Weight  for 

Under 

Weight  for 

Under 

Height 

Weight 

Height 

Wleight 

Pounds 

Poimds 

Pounds 

Pounds 

BOYS 

GIRLS 

21 

8.2 

7.4 

7.9 

7.1 

22 

9.7 

8.7 

9.4 

8.5 

23 

11.1 

10.0 

11.0 

9.9 

24 

12.5 

11.3 

12.5 

11.3 

25 

13.9 

12.5 

14.0 

12.6 

26 

15.3 

13.8 

15.5 

14.0 

27 

16.9 

15.2 

17.2 

15.5 

28 

18.5 

16.7 

18.8 

16.9 

29 

20.2 

18.2 

20.5 

18.5 

30 

21.7 

19.6 

22.0 

19.8 

31 

23.2 

20.9 

23.4 

21.1 

32 

24.5 

22.1 

24.8 

22.3 

33 

25  9 

23.3 

26.0 

23.4 

154   Heredity  and  Child  Culture 


Height 

Average 

10% 

Average 

10% 

Inches 

Weight  for 

Under 

Weight  for 

Under 

Height 

Weight 

Height 

Weight 

Pounds 

Pounds 

Pounds 

Poimds 

34 

27.3 

24.6 

27.3 

24.6 

35 

28.7 

25.8 

28.6 

25.7 

36 

30.0 

27.0 

30.0 

27.0 

37 

31.6 

28.4 

31.5 

28.4 

38 

33.2 

29.9 

32.7 

29.4 

39 

36.3 

32.7 

35.7 

32.1 

40 

38.1 

34.3 

37.4 

33.7 

41 

39.8 

35.8 

39.2 

35.3 

42 

41.7 

37.5 

41.2 

37.1 

43 

43.5 

39.2 

43.1 

38.8 

44 

45.4 

40.9 

44.8 

40.3 

45 

47.1 

42.4 

46.3 

41.7 

46 

49.5 

44.6 

48.5 

43.7 

47 

51.4 

46.3 

50.9 

45.8 

48 

63.0 

47.7 

53.3 

48.0 

49 

55.4 

49.9 

55.8 

50.2 

50 

59.6 

53.6 

58.3 

52.5 

61 

62.5 

56.3 

61.1 

55.0 

52 

65.8 

59.2 

63.8 

57.4 

53 

68.9 

62.0 

66.8 

60.1 

54 

72.0 

64.8 

70.3 

63.3 

55 

75.4 

67.9 

74.5 

67.1 

56 

79.2 

71.3 

78.4 

70.6 

57 

82.8 

74.5 

82.5 

74.3 

58 

87.0 

78.3 

86.6 

77.9 

59 

91.1 

82.0 

91.1 

82.0 

60 

95.2 

85.7 

96.7 

87.0 

61 

99.3 

89.4 

102.5 

92.2 

62 

103.8 

93.4 

110.4 

99.4 

63 

108.0 

97.2 

118.0 

106.2 

64 

114.7 

103.2 

123.0 

110.7 

65 

121.8 

109.6 

130.0 

117.0 

66 

127.8 

115.0 

137.0 

123.3 

67 

132.6 

119.3 

143.0 

128.7 

68 

138.9 

125.0 

146.9 

132.2 

A  child  whose  weight  does  not  agree  with  its 
height  and  who  is  10  per  cent,  under  weight  is 


Proper  Nutrition  155 

not  well  nourished.  These  figures,  however, 
are  only  averages,  and  do  not  apply  to  excep- 
tional cases.  Still  they  will  prove  valuable  in 
leading  to  a  careful  study  of  all  the  life  condi- 
tions of  a  child  showing  such  irregularity.  It 
is  especially  when  growth  is  very  active  that 
under  feeding  or  wrong  feeding  is  most  disas- 
trous. Adolescence  is  the  time  that  especially 
requires  a  most  liberal  diet.  Quick  growth  and 
marked  muscular  and  glandular  activity  call 
for  abundant  food.  Sometimes  children  who 
are  properly  fed  but  who  are  over-active  in 
study  or  play  become  under-nourished.  Dr. 
Emerson  stresses  the  importance  of  rest  periods 
for  under-weight  children  in  addition  to  regula- 
tion of  diet.  This  was  well  exemplified  in  a 
class  of  under-nourished  children  under  my  ob- 
servation in  one  of  the  public  schools  of  New 
York.  An  abundant  dinner  was  furnished  these 
children,  of  which  all  partook.  A  number,  how- 
ever, failed  to  gain.  When  a  rest  period  of  an 
hour  after  dinner  was  added  to  the  regime,  these 
same  children  gained  also.  General  hygienic 
oversight  is  therefore  required  in  dealing  with 


156    Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

such  children.  The  first  necessity  is  to  stop 
habits  that  interfere  with  healthy  appetite  and 
digestion.  The  eating  of  candy  and  sweets, 
the  drinking  of  tea  and  coffee,  and  other  dietetic 
errors  must  first  be  corrected  before  improve- 
ment can  be  expected. 


CHAPTER  XIII 


THE  FAMILY 


It  is  a  truism  to  remark  that  the  welfare  of 
the  child  is  closely  bound  up  with  that  of  the 
family.  Any  influence  that  weakens  the  status 
of  the  family  and  the  home  is  at  once  disas- 
trously reflected  upon  the  developing  child. 
The  necessity  for  strengthening  and  conserving 
family  relations,  as  far  as  possible,  in  all  indi- 
vidual and  social  endeavors  is  not  only  shown 
in  beneficial  practical  results  but  has  a  deep 
philosophic  reason  as  well.  The  family  stands 
at  the  foundation  of  the  complete  fabric  of  civ- 
ilization. 

John  Fiske  elaborates  this  thought  in  his  Out- 
lines of  Cosmic  Philosophy,  and  it  may  be  of 
interest  to  quote  some  of  his  words, — *'The 
feature  by  which  the  most  rudimentary  human 
family  group  is  distinguished  from  any  colloca- 
tion of  kindred  individuals  among  gregarious 
mammals  is  the  pennanent  character  of  the 
relationships  between  its  constituent  members. 

IS7 


158  Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

Enduring  from  birth  until  death,  these  relation- 
ships acquire  a  traditionary  value  which  passes 
on  from  generation  to  generation,  and  thus  there 
arise  reciprocal  necessities  of  behavior  between 
parents  and  children,  husbands  and  wives, 
brothers  and  sisters,  in  which  reciprocal  neces- 
sities of  behavior  we  have  discerned  the  requi- 
site conditions  for  the  genesis  of  those  ego- 
altruistic  impulses  which,  when  further  modi- 
fied by  the  expansion  of  sympathetic  feelings, 
give  birth  to  moral  sentiments.  *****  We 
bridge  the  gulf  which  seems,  on  a  superficial 
view,  forever  to  divide  the  human  from  the 
brute  world.  And  not  least,  in  the  grand  result, 
is  the  profound  meaning  which  is  given  to  the 
phenomena  of  helpless  babyhood.  From  of  old 
we  have  heard  the  monition,  'Except  ye  be  as 
babes,  ye  cannot  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven.* 
The  latest  science  now  shows  us, — though  in  a 
very  different  sense  of  the  word, — that,  unless 
we  had  been  as  babes,  the  ethical  phenomena 
which  gives  all  its  significance  to  the  phrase 
'kingdom  of  heaven'  would  have  been  non-exis- 
tent for  us.     Without  the  circumstances  of  in- 


The  Family  159 

fancy  we  might  have  become  formidable  among 
animals  through  sheer  force  of  sharp-witted- 
ness.  But,  except  for  these  circumstances,  we 
should  never  have  comprehended  the  meaning 
of  such  phrases  as  'self-sacrifice,'  or  'devotion.* 
The  phenomena  of  social  life  would  have  been 
omitted  from  the  history  of  the  world,  and  with 
them  the  phenomena  of  ethics  and  religion.'* 
While  the  bringing  up  and  training  of  the 
child  call  for  watchful  care  and  constant  labor, 
if  it  be  conscientiously  and  hopefully  under- 
taken, there  are  the  greatest  rewards  and  com- 
pensations for  such  efforts.  It  is  only  neces- 
sary to  note  what  the  child  does  for  parents 
and  the  race  to  see  how  this  must  be  so.  In  the 
scheme  of  higher  evolution  the  child  stands  pre- 
eminent. It  was  the  maternal  care  required 
by  the  long  period  of  helpless  infancy  that  first 
initiated  altruism  into  the  human  race.  It  takes 
time  to  develop  unselfishness  and  sympathy, 
and  in  the  lower  animals  the  interval  requiring 
such  complete  care  and  self-sacrifice  is  lacking. 
It  is  the  helpless  child  that  develops  in  the 
mother  carefulness,  patience  and  tendeniess; 


i6o  Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

if  these  do  not  exist  in  her,  the  child  cannot 
survive.  Merely  bringing  a  child  into  life  is 
not  sufficient,  so  that  an  ethical  element  is  as 
necessary  as  a  physical  one  for  continued  exis- 
tence. 

The  human  child  does  what  the  offspring  of 
the  lower  animals  never  accomplishes, — it  acts 
as  a  developer  of  the  affections, — it  creates  the 
true  mother.  Eveiy  mother  may  thus  become 
a  Madonna.  The  greatest  moral  force  in  the 
world  for  its  uplifting  hence  has  its  original 
basis  in  a  physical  condition  in  which  the  child 
plays  the  leading  role.  Drummond  ^  calls  atten- 
tion to  the  fact  that  before  maternal  love  can  be 
evolved  out  of  mere  rudimentary  care,  before 
love  can  be  made  a  necessity  and  carried  past 
the  unhatched  egg  to  the  living  thing  which  is 
to  come  out  of  it,  nature  must  alter  all  her  ways. 
He  puts  it  thus, —  **Four  great  changes  at 
least  must  be  introduced  into  her  programme. 
In  the  first  place,  she  must  cause  fewer  young 
to  be  produced  at  birth.  In  the  second  place, 
she  must  have  these  young  produced  in  such  out- 

1  The  Ascent  of  Mem,  James  Pott  &  Co. 


The  Family  i6i 

ward  form  that  their  mothers  will  recognize 
them.  In  the  third  place,  instead  of  produc- 
ing them  in  such  physical  perfection  that  they 
are  able  to  go  out  into  life  the  moment  they  are 
born,  she  must  make  them  helpless,  so  that  for 
a  time  they  must  dwell  with  her  if  they  are  to 
live  at  all.  And,  fourthly,  it  is  required  that 
she  shall  be  made  to  dwell  with  them;  that  in 
some  way  they  also  should  be  made  necessary, 
— physically  necessary, — to  her  to  compel  her 
to  attend  to  them.  All  these  beautiful  arrange- 
ments we  find  carried  out  to  the  last  detail." 
The  human  mother  is  thus  primarily  made  by 
these  four  processes.  During  this  period  the 
mother  also  requires  care  and  protection,  and 
thus  is  evolved  the  father,  giving  love  and  sup- 
port to  mother  and  offspring.  In  this  way  the 
family  is  created,  which  is  the  unit  of  civiliza- 
tion around  which  cluster  all  the  higher  attri- 
butes of  man. 

Love,  apart  from  passion  and  selfishness,  is 
due  to  children :  it  has  descended  directly  from 
them.  The  nurture  and  care  of  children,  if 
properly  conceived  and  carried  out,  constitute 


i62    Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

the  great  educators  in  the  character  of  parents. 
For  children  give  more  than  they  take.  They 
are  the  greatest  ci\ilizers  and  humanizers  of 
the  race.  Without  their  unconscious  but  bene- 
ficient  influence,  we  would  soon  relapse  into  a 
possibly  refined  but  selfish  barbarism.  The 
child  has  done  more  for  the  regeneration  of  the 
race  than-all  the  creeds  that  have  ever  been  for- 
mulated. 

As  the  best  physical,  moral  and  social  de- 
velopment of  child  life  takes  place  in  the  indi- 
vidual home,  every  effort  must  be  made  to 
strengthen  and  conserve  family  life.  The  child 
forms  the  connective  link  of  the  family,  which, 
in  turn,  represents  the  earliest  human  unit  of 
association,  antedating  both  church  and  state. 
In  fact,  the  earliest  form  of  government  found 
expression  in  the  patriarchal  family.  In  social 
evolution,  the  monogamous  relationship  exhibits 
the  highest  form  that  family  life  has  attained. 
It  is  probable  that  promiscuity  marked  the  life 
of  primitive  man.  Among  many  early  tribes 
and  nations,  the  family  in  the  modern  sense 
cannot  be  said  to  have  functioned.     Ther  ideal 


The  Family  163 

of  monogamous  marriage  puts  the  home  as  the 
centre  of  family  life,  and  all  must  recognize  that 
here  is  the  best  place  for  child  training.  The 
home  properly  organized  also  elevates  women 
and  promotes  religion.  All  remedial  efforts 
both  individual  and  social,  must  begin  in  the 
home,  and,  if  results  are  to  be  enduring,  must 
likewise  end  there. 

As  the  child  has  done  so  fnuch  in  the  evolu- 
tion of  the  family  and  of  civilization  itself,  it 
it  is  evident  that  parents  have  a  most  important 
duty  in  training  the  young  and  developing  a 
normal  familj'  life.  To  this  end,  parents  should 
see  more  of  their  children  in  order  to  study 
their  individual  needs  and  possibilities.  Too 
often  they  are  early  relegated  to  nurses  and 
governesses,  and  later  to  pedagogues  who  can- 
not have  the  personal  interest  that  should  be 
possessed  by  parents. 

During  infancy  and  early  childhood,  the 
mother  is  frequently  Avilling  to  trust  the  child 
to  an  ignorant  nursemaid  of  the  peasant  type, 
who  has  not  had  a  proper  training  for  this  im- 
portant service.    Preparation  and  education 


164  Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

are  required  for  all  callings  and  professions  ex- 
cept the  most  important  one  of  all, — that  of 
caring  for  little  children.  The  mothers  them- 
selves are  the  natural  ones  to  give  the  major 
care  to  their  young  children,  or,  if  desiring  help, 
should  have  the  knowledge  and  character  to 
properly  direct  the  nurse.  Babies  grow  fond 
of  those  who  personally  minister  to  their  wants, 
and  it  is  pathetic  to  see  an  infant  turn  away 
from  a  refined  mother  and  cry  for  some  coarse, 
ignorant  but  kindly  woman  who  feeds  and  cares 
for  it.  A  little  later,  vulgar  language  and  un- 
desirable habits  may  be  acquired  by  such  close 
association. 

There  is  no  nobler  profession  in  the  world 
than  that  of  mother.  Like  all  callings  in  the 
modern  world,  it  demands  efficiency.  While 
women  have  striven  for  advancement  in  all 
phrases  of  present  day  activities, — science,  art, 
literature  and  social  organization,  they  have 
often  not  kept  pace  with  a  wiser  regimen  in  the 
rearing  of  children.  It  might  be  well  to  estab- 
lish schools  of  motherhood  where,  based  upon 
a  general  foundation  of  biology,  the  students 


The  Family  165 

could  be  taught  the  hygiene,  physiology  and 
psychology  of  childhood.  If  such  knowledge 
could  be  applied,  it  would  not  take  many  gener- 
ations to  secure  a  better,  sounder  race.  Such 
a  schoal  might  confer  a  degree  that  would  be 
equivalent  to  that  obtained  by  becoming  pro- 
ficient in  ancient  history  or  the  parallelopiped 
of  forces.  Much  of  the  underlying  restlessness 
and  discontent  in  life,  so  often  seen  among  our 
better-favored  women  would  soon  disappear  if 
they  could  obtain  a  fresh  orientation  by  study- 
ing and  helping  the  little  child.  The  average 
father  has  also  an  important  duty,  too  often 
neglected,  in  studying  and  directing  his  chil- 
dren. He  is  so  immersed  in  the  business  of 
making  money  to  care  for  their  material  wants, 
that  he  has  little  or  no  time  to  guide  their  men- 
tal and  spiritual  development  in  the  right  di- 
rection. The  social  engagements  of  the  mother 
and  the  business  preoccupations  of  the  father, 
result  in  no  time  being  left  for  the  children. 
They  are  thus  sent  to  boarding  schools  and  sum- 
mer camps  and  the  whole  duty  of  oversight 
shifted  to  the  pedagogue.     It  is  time  more  par- 


i66   Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

eiits  themselves  attended  to  the  difficult  and 
serious  work  of  raising  their  offspring. 

One  of  the  greatest  evils  of  divorce,  that  is 
now  unfortunately  so  prevalent,  is  the  total  dis- 
regard of  the  real  interest  of  children.  The 
breaking  up  of  the  home  and  handing  them  out 
from  one  parent  to  the  other  in  six-month 
shifts  has  a  most  disastrous  effect.  The  in- 
herent selfishness  of  the  men  and  women  who 
stand  for  this  practice  is  appalling. 

What  is  much  needed  among  all  classes  at  the 
present  time  is  more  of  an  appreciation  of  the 
great  responsibility  of  bringing  children  into 
the  world  and  the  necessity  of  giving  them 
a  wholesome,  happy  family  life.  It  is  only  thus 
that  a  normal,  healthy  generation  can  be  reared. 

Some  of  our  advanced  communistic  philoso- 
phers have  lately  proposed  that  children  be 
separated  from  their  parents  and  brought  up  in 
huge  caravansaries  under  the  care  of  the  state. 
These  pseudo-thinkers  are  as  ignorant  of  bi- 
ology as  of  experience.  Their  pronouncements 
are  better  fitted  for  the  barnyard  than  for 
civilized   society.    All   experience   shows   that 


The  Family  167 

the  highest  development  of  the  child  takes  place 
in  the  individual  family  and  home. 

The  trend  away  from  the  home  is  one  of  the 
evils  of  the  day  and  must  be  checked  if  future 
civilization  is  not  to  become  retrogressive. 
The  family  must  be  conserved  at  any  cost  if 
only  for  the  benefit  of  the  child. 


CHAPTEE  XIV 


THE  DEPENDENT   CHILD 


The  abandoned,  dependent  child  forms  a 
problem  that  has  been  poorly  solved  by  modern 
society.  We  have  warnings  that  some  of  our 
methods  of  cliild  care  are  not  the  best.  Those 
who  thoughtfully  work  for  dependent  infants 
and  children  have  long  felt  stirrings  of  dis- 
content with  the  methods  in  common  use.  We 
need  a  fresh  orientation  to  guide  our  efforts  in 
newer  and  more  productive  channels.  A  new 
spirit  is  called  for  which  is  not  easy  to  find,  and 
in  which  the  individual  needs  of  every  neglected 
child  will  be  considered.  In  this  period  of  gen- 
eral reconstruction,  let  us  try  and  put  the  salv- 
age of  abandoned,  dependent  children  on  a 
natural  and  secure  basis.  To  this  end,  all 
remedial  efforts  should  be  planned,  as  far  as 

possible,  along  the  line  of  Nature's  laws. 

i68 


The  Dependent  Child         169 

It  is  only  necessary  to  glance  at  some  of 
the  methods  employed,  to  understand  why  re- 
sults have  been  so  unsatisfactory.  Many  years 
ago  needy  children  were  sent  to  poor-houses, 
with  or  without  their  parents  as  the  case  might 
be.  This  plan  worked  badly;  subsequently, 
they  were  boarded  out  in  a  careless,  haphazard 
manner.  The  old  baby-farming  experience  at 
once  comes  to  mind,  where  an  ignorant  woman, 
liying  in  squalor,  took  as  many  babies  to  board 
as  she  could  accommodate,  with  a  sick  and  death 
rate  that  was  appalling.  The  late  Dr.  Elisha 
Harris,  once  reporting  on  this  subject,  stated 
that  in  New  York,  from  1854  to  1859,  about 
1000  infants  were  boarded  out  each  year,  and 
ninety  out  of  one  hundred  did  not  live  to  see 
their  first  birthday.  As  this  plan  was  so  de- 
plorable it  was  determined  to  house  this  class 
of  children  in  large  institutions  where  doctors 
and  nurses  could  hold  sway  and  try  for  better 
results.  But  when  some  years  later  this  same 
class  of  infants  was  collected  in  an  institution 
on  Eandall's  Island,  the  results  with  young  in- 
fants were  frequently  worse,  as  the  death  rate 


170   Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

often  reached  95  per  cent,  if  they  were  kept 
very  long. 

In  this  gradual  evolution  of  saving  destitute 
children,  the  pathway,  with  many  digressions, 
started  at  the  almshouse ;  next  followed  the  plan 
of  careless  farming  out,  and  then  came  the  con- 
gregate and  cottage  institution.  Finally  we 
have  some  sort  of  boarding  out  as  the  best  solu- 
tion of  a  very  difficult  problem. 

The  public  systems  for  the  care  of  dependent 
children  by  the  various  states  have  been  classi- 
fied by  Homer  Folks  as  follows :  ^ 

1.  The  state  school  and  placing-out  system, 
adopted  by  Michigan,  Minnesota,  Wisconsin, 
Rhode  Island,  Kansas,  Colorado,  Nebraska, 
Montana,  Nevada  and  Texas.  While  the  chil- 
dren may  first  be  collected  in  an  institution,  the 
aim  of  this  system  is  to  place  them  in  actual 
homes  as  soon  as  possible. 

2.  The  county  children's  home  system, 
adopted  by  Ohio,  Connecticut  and  Indiana. 
While  placing-out  is  practised  to  some  extent, 
it  is  not  an  important  feature  of  this  system. 

1  The  Care  of  Neglected,  Destitute  and  Delinquent  Children, 
The  Macmillan  Co. 


The  Dependent  Child         171 

3.  The  plan  of  supporting  public  charges  in 
private  institutions,  which  prevails  in  New 
York,  California,  Maryland,  District  of  Colum- 
bia, and  to  some  extent  in  several  other  states. 
By  per  capita  payments  this  plan  encourages  a 
long  retention  and  building  up  of  large  institu- 
tions with  a  discouragement  of  placing-out. 

4.  The  boarding-out  and  placing-out  system, 
which  is  carried  on  directly  by  the  public  author- 
ities in  Massachusetts ;  through  a  private  organ- 
ization— the  Children's  Aid  Society — in  Penn- 
sylvania ;  and  has  recently  been  undertaken  by 
the  state  authorities  in  New  Jersey. 

Thus  in  three  states  dependent  children  are 
directly  boarded-out  in  family  homes,  followed 
by  eiforts  made  to  place  them  in  perma- 
nent free  homes.  This  plan  was  earliest 
developed  in  Massachusetts,  where  it  has  been 
successfully  carried  out  on  a  large  scale  since 
1882,  when  the  children  began  to  be  removed 
from  the  state  primary  school.  The  latter  was 
entirely  abolished  in  1895,  since  which  time  all 
the  state  dependent  children  have  been  boarded 
out.    Three  years  later  (1898)  the  city  of  Boston 


172  Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

likewise  abandoned  the  institutional  plan  and 
placed  all  destitute  children  in  family  homes. 

It  is  the  infant  that  suffers  most  from 
institutional  care.  Babies  are  brought  into: 
the  world  singly  and  not  in  droves,  and  they 
crave  individual  care  and  mothering.  The 
little  child  craves  love.  That  close  human  ob- 
server, Jane  Addams,  with  sympathetic  vision, 
puts  it  thus : — ''We  are  told  that  the  will  to  live 
is  aroused  in  each  baby  by  his  mother 's  irresist- 
ible desire  to  play  with  him,  the  physiological 
value  of  joy  that  a  child  is  born,  and  that  the 
high  death  rate  in  institutions  is  increased  by 
the  discontented  babies  whom  no  one  persuades 
into  living." 

In  the  last  report  of  the  State  Board  of  Char- 
ities of  New  York,  it  is  stated  that  57.2  per  cent, 
of  infants  under  one  year  died  in  infant  asylums 
through  the  state.  There  have  been  similar 
results  as  long  as  records  have  been  kept. 
Under  three  months,  the  mortality  often  reaches 
two-thirds  of  the  cases  admitted.  Some  years 
ago  the  American  Child  Hygiene  Association 
reported  that  during  a   series   of  years,   the 


The  Dependent  Child        173 

general  death  rate  of  children  under  two  years 
in  the  State  of  New  York  was  about  one-fifth 
that  of  institutions.  It  is  only  fair  to  add  that 
they  frequently  receive  abandoned  infants  in  a 
weakened  condition  and  that  such  cases  are 
hard  to  manage.  The  bad  results  are  not  due 
to  lack  of  kindness  or  attention,  but  to  the  fact 
that  the  whole  system  is  wrong.  ^  Good  mo- 
tives and  bad  methods  may  coexist.  It  often 
requires  the  work  of  the  wise  to  correct  the  mis- 
takes of  the  good. 

Aside  from  the  large  death  rate,  there  is  much 
sickness  in  the  institutions,  due  largely  to  con- 

1  To  those  who  are  specially  interested,  reference  is  made  to 
the  following  articles  I  have  written  on  this  subject: 

"A  Plan  of  Dealing  with  Atrophic  Infants  and  Children." 

Archives  of  Pediatrics,  July,  1908. 

"The    Proper    Management    of    Foundlings    and    Neglected 

Infants."     N.  Y.  Med.  Record,  February   18,  1911. 

"Are   Institutions   for   Infants   Necessary?"     Jour.   A.M.A. 

January  2,  1915. 

"A  Plea  for  Accurate  Statistics  in   Infant's  Institutions," 

Archives  of  Pediatrics,  October,   1915. 

"A    Scheme    of    State    Control    for    Dependent    Infants." 

A'.  Y.  Med.  Record,  June  17,  1916. 

"Systematized    Boarding    Out    vs.    Institutional    Care    for 

Infants  and  Young  Children."     N.   Y.   Med.  Journal,  June 

2.   1917. 

"Tlie  Speedwell  Plan  of  Child  Sa\ang  in  Theory  and  Prac- 
tice."    The  Survey,  Octol>er  26,   1918. 

"Problems  of  Boarding-out,  with   an   Attempted  Solution." 

N.  Y.  Med.  Record,  April  24.  1920. 

A  little  volume  entitled,  The  Traffic  in  Babies,  by  George 
Walker,  M.D.,  published  by  the  Norman  Remington  Company, 
Baltimore,  makes  startling  reading. 


174   Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

tact  infections.  It  seems  impossible  to  avoid 
manifold  cross  infections  when  those  sus- 
ceptible infants  are  handled  in  mass.  They 
have  a  low  resistance ;  all  kinds  of  colds,  especi- 
ally of  the  influenza  type,  spread  unchecked,  and 
many  cases  of  bronchitis  and  broncho-pneu- 
monia are  thus  contracted.  If  the  specific  con- 
tagions, such  as  measles,  scarlet-fever,  whoop- 
ing-cough or  chicken-pox  gain  access  to  an  in- 
stitution, as  they  very  frequently  do,  they 
spread  like  wild  fire  and  the  results  are  often 
most  disastrous. 

There  is  also  constant  danger  in  children's 
hospitals,  as  well  as  asylums,  from  the  entrance 
and  spread  of  these  infections.  I  do  not 
approve  of  the  multiplication  of  infants'  and 
children's  hospitals  through  the  country.  A 
few  can  do  all  the  necessary  work.  In  most 
cases,  a  small  ward  in  a  general  hospital  can 
function  efficiently  and  economically  for  sick 
children  requiring  special  care.  The  hospital 
need  only  be  utilized  for  surgical  operations, 
for  severe  illnesses  requiring  highly  specialized 
nursing  and  treatment,  and  for  scientific  obser- 


The  Dependent  Child         175 

vation  of  obscure  cases  requiring  much  labora- 
tory study.  Children,  and  especially  infants, 
do  not  respond  well  to  prolonged  hospital  care. 
As  soon  as  acute  symptoms  of  disease  have 
passed,  they  should  be  promptly  discharged. 
Otherwise,  there  is  liable  to  be  recurrence  of  the 
original  disease  or  a  succumbing  to  some  com- 
municable infection.  Convalescence  should 
take  place  elsewhere. 

Recognizing  this  fact,  in  1890  I  started  Hos- 
pital Social  Service  in  connection  with  the 
children's  division  of  the  New  York  Post-Grad- 
uate  Hospital.  After  a  quick  discharge,  the 
necessary  medical,  surgical  and  social  after- 
care takes  place  in  the  home.  I  believe  this 
represents  the  first  activity  of  the  kind  to  be 
started  and  kept  up  as  a  routine  proceeding.^ 
In  this  connection  it  is  interesting  to  note  that 
the  nurses  of  the  Henry  Street  Settlement 
of  New  York  got  better  results  with  certain 
diseases  of  childhood,  notably  pneumonia, 
treated  at  home  than  do  any  of  the  hospitals. 

1  "The  Relation  Between  the  Child  and  Hospital  Social 
Service" — Journal  of  the  American  Medical  Association, 
July   23,    1921. 


176  Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

Aside  from  infection  the  infants  in  institu- 
tions often  progressively  lose  weight  and  lie  in 
rows  of  cots  in  an  apathetic  condition,  as  there 
are  usually  too  few  attendants  to  take  them  up 
for  needed  change  and  exercise.  It  is  especi- 
ally at  night  that  babies  may  lie  unattended 
from  this  cause.  They  rarely  get  enough  fresh 
outside  air :  oxygen  is  needed  as  well  as  food  to 
keep  them  in  vigor.  All  these  factors  result  in 
the  devitalized  babies  so  often  seen  in  institu- 
tions. In  warm  climates  they  suffer  much  less 
from  confinement  in  institutions,  owing  to  the 
fact  that  windows  may  be  kept  open  and  their 
cots  can  be  placed  on  porches  or  in  courtyards. 

Owing  to  the  facts  here  noted,  the  drift  of 
opinion  among  thoughtful  workers  is  strongly 
against  the  collective  management  of  these 
cases,  especially  when  the  numbers  are  large. 
There  has  been  an  extraordinary  agreement  on 
this  question  among  those  who  have  had  the 
widest  opportunity  for  observation  and  experi- 
ment. 

As  far  back  as  1909,  a  conference  on  the  care 
of  dependent  children  was  held  at  Washington 


The  Dependent  Child         177 

D.  C,  at  the  call  of  President  Roosevelt,  who 
was  much  interested  in  this  vital  human  prob- 
lem. A  large  number  of  practical  workers  and 
experts  in  child  saving  from  all  parts  of  the 
country  took  part  in  the  deliberations  of  this 
conference.  Among  many  conclusions  reached 
upon  diverse  problems  of  child  saving,  the 
following  especially  concern  us  here:  "Home 
life  is  the  highest  and  finest  product  of  civi- 
lization. It  is  the  great  molding  force  of  mind 
and  character.  Children  should  not  be  de- 
prived of  it  except  for  urgent  and  compelling 
reasons.  ******  As  to  the  children  who 
for  sufficient  reasons  must  be  removed  from 
their  own  homes  or  who  have  no  homes,  it  is 
desirable  that,  if  normal  in  mind  or  body,  and 
not  requiring  special  training,  they  should  be 
cared  for  in  families  whenever  practicable. 
The  carefully  selected  foster  home  is  for  the 
normal  child  the  best  substitute  for  the  natural 
home.''  We  have  thus  represented  in  these 
words  the  national  opinion  on  this  subject. 

Ten  years  later  an  International  Conference 
of  Red  Cross  Societies,  held  at  Cannes,  gave 


1 78   Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

what  can  fairly  be  said  to  represent  the  best 
world  thought  on  this  question:  '* Permanent 
institutional  care  for  infants  and  young  chil- 
dren should  be  discouraged  on  account  of  the 
almost  insuperable  difficulties  in  maintaining 
nutrition  in  infancy  under  these  conditions  and 
because  of  the  great  susceptibility  of  young 
children  to  infection;  preference  should  be 
given  to  placing  such  children  in  suitable 
families." 

Two  experiments  might  be  mentioned  in 
which  a  striking  difference  between  institu- 
tional and  home  care  of  abandoned  infants  has 
been  recorded.  In  San  Francisco  the  mortal- 
ity for  years  in  the  foundling  asylums  averaged 
50  per  cent.  The  authorities  of  these  institu- 
tions finally  consented  to  abandon  the  institu- 
tional care  and  resorted  to  boarding  out  with 
careful  oversight.  A  group  of  young  college 
women  undertook  the  follow-up  work,  and  once 
a  week  all  the  babies  are  brought  to  a  central 
station  for  weighing  and  general  advice.  As 
a  result,  the  mortality  of  this  class  of  cases  has 
been  reduced  to  12  per  cent. 


The  Dependent  Child        179 

A  more  striking  comparison  between  institu- 
tional and  boarding  out  mortality  is  afforded 
by  the  results  obtained  by  the  Sage  Foundation 
and  the  Department  of  Health  with  babies  taken 
from  the  marasmus  ward  of  the  N.  Y.  Found- 
ling hospital.^  This  ward  receives  only  the 
chronic  cases  of  extreme  atrophy  that  have  al- 
ways ended  in  death.  In  boarding  out  a  num- 
ber of  these  babies,  an  extra  bonus  was  given 
to  selected  women,  and  a  doctor  and  a  nurse 
furnished  for  every  ten  babies.  As  a  result 
there  was  an  eventual  mortality  of  46  per  cent. 
Thus  nearlv  half  of  the  babies  were  saved  in 
the  home  who  were  bound  to  die  in  the  institu- 
tion. 

As  expert  opinion  is  in  such  wide  agreement 
upon  stressing  of  family  homes  rather  than  the 
institution  in  the  care  of  the  abandoned  young, 
it  is  strange  that  more  thought  and  effort  have 
not  been  placed  on  the  problems  of  boarding 
out.  The  latter  has  not  always  functioned  as 
well  as  it  should,  owing  to  lack  of  proper  over- 
sight and  regulation. 

1  Womw^'a  Medical  Journal,  Jan.  1916. 


i8o  Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

The  two  main  difiBculties  of  boarding  out  con- 
sist, first  in  selecting  a  suitable  home,  and  next 
in  exercising  constant  and  proper  supervision. 
Where  boarding  out  has  fallen  short,  one  or 
both  of  these  factors  have  not  been  sufficiently 
emphasized. 

The  Speedwell  System 

After  much  thought  on  this  subject,  in  1902, 
I  developed  what  is  known  as  the  Speedwell 
System,  that  represents  a  sustained  effort  so 
to  regulate  and  systematize  boarding  out  as  to 
place  its  good  effects  at  a  maximum  and  its 
possible  bad  effects  at  a  minimum.  This  has 
been  accomplished  by  developing  what  may  be 
called  a  unit  system  of  intensive  boarding  out. 
A  unit  consists  of  a  neighborhood  selected 
after  a  survey  has  been  made  to  learn  the 
general  conditions  of  healthfulness  and  the 
number  of  good  homes  available  in  the  locality. 
There  is  then  inaugurated  a  constant  over- 
sight, especially  as  to  diet  and  hygiene,  on  the 
part  of  a  salaried  physician  and  nurse  who  are 
thoroughly  familiar  with  this  class  of  cases  and 


The  Dependent  Child        i8i 

competent  to  deal  with  them.  The  children  are 
kept  indefinitely  until  digestion  and  assimila- 
tion have  improved  sufficiently  to  result  in  a 
peimanent  increase  in  weight  and  strength. 

Efforts  are  made  to  train  in  each  neighbor- 
hood a  number  of  foster  mothers,  who,  by 
natural  aptitude  under  instruction  and  by  con- 
stantly taking  infants  and  young  children  into 
their  homes,  become  fairly  expert  in  handling 
them  under  conditions  totally  unlike  those  of- 
fered by  institutions  and  far  superior  to  them. 
We  thus  try  to  carry  on  an  important  educa- 
tional work  among  the  families  taking  our  chil- 
dren. The  constant  oversight  of  our  doctor  and 
nurse  is  aimed  to  help  each  foster  mother  in  the 
care  of  her  own  children  as  well.  The  homes 
in  which  the  children  are  placed  are  helped 
financially  by  the  board  paid,  and  morally  by 
the  good  advice  and  watching  of  the  trained 
observers. 

Thus  the  simple  machinery  that  endeavors  to 
really  and  permanently  help  the  abandoned  and 
ailing  child  will,  at  the  same  time,  assist  in  edu- 
cating each  community  in  which  it  operates  in 


i82   Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

prevention  and  care  of  its  own  ailing  children. 
This  by-product,  involving  improved  social 
ideals  and  a  higher  standard  of  living,  may  be 
made  a  very  important  feature  of  this  work. 
It  need  hardly  be  stated  that  this  individual 
and  social  ideal,  in  order  to  attain  its  highest 
success,  must  be  operated  by  those  who  believe 
in  it  and  are  willing  to  put  forth  enthusiastic 
efforts  toward  its  support.  In  other  words,  the 
human  effort  is  here  the  important  factor,  and 
the  system  in  order  to  attain  its  greatest  effi- 
ciency calls  for  high  grade  workers  who  can 
idealize  their  efforts,  as  well  as  for  good  family 
homes  where  the  boarded-out  children  will  be 
reared  under  constant  and  intelligent  super- 
vision. The  emphasis  is  thus  placed  on  human 
agents  rather  than  on  bricks  and  mortar. 

The  underlying  idea  of  a  unit  is  to  include  a 
certain  area  in  city  or  country  that  will  be 
suffiiciently  circumscribed  to  allow  the  workers 
to  be  acquainted  with  the  personnel  of  the 
neighborhood  and  accessible  for  communication. 
It  may  include  a  part  of  the  whole  of  a  village 
or  a  certain  district  or  a  ward  in  a  city. 


The  Dependent  Child        183 

The  formation  of  a  unit  involves  first  the 
selection  of  a  number  of  promising  homes  after 
the  preliminary  survey.  Our  experience  has 
shown  that  it  is  a  mistake  to  be  too  fastidious 
at  first  in  selecting  the  homes.  If  the  woman 
of  the  household  has  motherly  instincts  and 
fairly  healthy  children  of  her  own,  and  seems 
teachable,  a  certain  amount  of  dirt  and  dis- 
order can  well  be  overlooked  at  the  start.  A 
porch  or  back  yard,  or  some  open  space,  is  most 
essential,  as  plenty  of  fresh  air  is  one  of  the  im- 
portant features  of  this  work. 

The  next  step  is  to  select  a  committee  of 
women  living  in  or  near  the  locality  selected  for 
the  unit,  who  are  familiar  with  the  neighbor- 
hood and  the  people,  and  who  constitute  the 
local  managers  of  the  undertaking.  They  may 
help  in  raising  money  and  supplies,  assist  in 
friendly  visiting  in  the  homes,  acquaint  them- 
selves with  neighborhood  conditions,  and  in 
these  and  other  ways  exercise  general  super- 
vision of  the  work.  A  further  possibility  of 
this  endeavor  may  be  to  enable  the  well-to-do 
classes  to  properly  envisage  the  life  conditions 


184  Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

of  those  less  favored  and  thereby  to  develop 
genuine  human  relationships. 

The  records  kept  of  the  children  are  uniform 
in  all  the  units,  and  careful  histories  on  a  card 
system  show  the  conditions  and  results  of  their 
care. 

There  is  a  unit  at  Morristown,  N.  J.,  one 
at  Yonkers,  N.  Y.,  and  one  at  New  Rochelle, 
N.  Y.,  operated  by  the  Free  Synagogue  of  New 
York,  which  prepares  abandoned  children  for 
adoption  in  Jewish  homes.  There  is  now  being 
started  a  unit  in  the  Kingsbridge  section  of 
New  York  City.  The  results  as  shown  by  a 
lowered  death  rate,  and  the  production  of 
healthy,  normal  children  proves  the  superior- 
ity of  this  system  over  other  plans  of  child 
saving.  Each  large  city  can  be  surrounded 
by  units,  and  also  have  units,  as  well  as  collect- 
ing stations,  in  town.  A  rough  outline  of 
existing  units  is  shown  by  the  first  two  dia- 
grams, while  the  third  illustrates  our  ideal  for 
the  general  extension  of  the  work. 

On  the  economic  side,  it  is  cheaper,  as  there 
are  no  overhead  expenses  for  the  operation  of 


The  Dependent  Child         185 

buildings  requiring  service  and  supplies.  In 
figuring  institution  expense,  the  cost  of  the 
plant  and  equipment,  as  well  as  the  remitted 
taxes  must  be  included. 


Fig.   1.     Outline  of  Morristown  Unit. 

The  Speedwell  system  can  be  indefinitely 
enlarged  by  the  simple  multiplication  of  units, 
all  operating  on  the  same  plan,  and  only  requir- 


1 86  Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

ing  as  the  work  enlarges  a  central  registry  for 
temporary  reception  and  distribution  of  cases. 
One  or  two  rooms  in  a  tenement  house  could 
serve  the  purpose. 


Fig.  2.     Outline  of  Yonkers  Unit. 

In  this  system  which  has  been  in  successful 
operation  for  twenty  years,  I  believe  we  have 
the  best  solution  of  a  baffling  problem.  It  has 
responded  to  the  pragmatic  test, — it  works. 

At  the  International  Congress  for  Child  Wei' 


The  Dependent  Child        187 

fare  recently  held  in  Brussels,  the  Congress 
recommended  the  organization  throughout 
Europe     of     the     unit     method     of     board- 


Fig.    3.    Diagram    showing    present    extent   of    Speedwell 
work  and  possibilities  of  expansion. 

( 1 )  Morristown    Unit. 

(2)  Yonkers    Unit. 

(3)  New  Rochelle   Unit. 

(4)  City    Unit    (Kingsbridge). 

( ?)   Other  possible  units   in  town   and  country. 

ing  out,  as  operated  by  the  Speedwell  System 
in  the  United  States. 

"While   older  children  do  not   suffer  as   do 


1 88  Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

infants  in  mortality  and  morbidity  from  institu- 
tional life  they  are  under  abnormal  conditions 
if  they  stay  too  long  in  such  a  place.  The  de- 
fective or  delinquent  child  is  best  handled  in  an 
institution,  but  all  others  do  better  outside. 
The  mass  training  of  defectives  is  often  more 
effective  than  individual  care. 

Professor  E.  P.  Devine  ^  states  that  while  in 
some  places  institutions  seem  necessary,  yet 
they  should  not  be  encouraged,  as  they  are 
wasteful  of  child  life,  wasteful  of  economic 
efficiency  and  character,  promotive  often  of  a 
spirit  the  opposite  of  law  abiding,  and  this  be- 
cause they  do  not  give  an  experience  to  the  child 
in  natural  family  and  neighborhood  relation- 
ships, do  not  give  an  opportunity  for  the  devel- 
opment of  self-reliance  and  self-direction,  do 
not  gradually  initiate  the  child  into  the  every 
day  routine  of  free  citizenship,  but  necessarily 
repress  his  budding  individuality,  limit  and  con- 
trol the  exercise  of  his  judgment  as  to  his  body, 
contract  his  vision,  mutilate  his  faculties  and 
distort  his  sense  of  values. 

1  "The  Normal  Life" — Survey  Associates. 


The  Dependent  Child         189 

Professor  Devine  reaches  the  following  con- 
clusion,— "It  is  the  large  institution  under  pri- 
vate or  religious  auspices,  managed  by  a  self- 
perpetuating  or  appointed  board,  but  sup- 
ported by  state  or  municipal  appropria- 
tions, which  is  most  diflScult  to  keep  human 
and  educational.  To  keep  within  reasonable 
bounds  as  to  size,  or  within  reasonable  bounds 
as  to  its  subtle  influence  on  state  and  municipal 
affairs.  The  subsidy  or  contract  system  con- 
tinually grows  by  wtiat  it  feeds  on.  It  repre- 
sents an  unsound  principle  of  divorcing  control 
from  support.  One  body  directs  the  affairs  of 
the  institution;  another  pays  the  bills.  The 
result  is  a  division  of  responsibility  and  the 
neglect  of  the  child.  ^' 

There  are  times  when  it  is  difficult  to  avoid 
placing  children  in  institutions,  but  in  such  cases 
the  stay  should  be  as  short  as  possible,  and,  as 
the  cottage  plan  does  away  with  some  of  the 
evils,  it  should  be  the  one  of  choice.  The 
old  congregate  system,  where  children  are 
housed  in  large  dormitories,  should  be  aban- 
doned.    The  inmates  too  often  lose  all  individ- 


190  Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

ual  initiative  and  become  little  automatons 
The  spread  of  evil  habits  and  associations  can 
occur  very  easily  under  institutional  auspices. 
Thomas  Mott  Osborne  has  said  that  many  of 
his  wards  at  Sing  Sing  Prison  had  their  early 
training  in  institutions.  He  recently  told  me 
that  a  study  of  a  group  of  prisoners  at  Auburn 
once  showed  that  two-thirds  of  them  had 
previously  been  inmates  of  juvenile  institu- 
tions. 

It  is  thus  evident  that  every  effort  should  be 
made  to  keep  children  out  of  large  institutions. 
So  far  as  the  child  is  concerned,  the  United 
States  is  institution-ridden,  as  there  are  rela- 
tively more  here  than  in  any  other  country. 
Scotland  has  the  honor  of  maintaining  the  few- 
est. If  parents  die  or  are  utterly  unable  to  care 
for  their  children,  some  form  of  boarding  out 
should  be  employed.  The  Speedwell  plan  can 
work  with  older  as  well  as  younger  children, 
as  it  does  away  with  the  usual  objection  to 
boarding  out, — lack  of  constant  oversight. 

A  very  great  advance  has  been  made  in  solv- 
ing the  problem  of  widows  with  children.    Miss 


The  Dependent  Child        191 

Loeb^  has  stated  that  the  local  governments  in 
41  states  have  now  solved  this  question  by- 
entering  widows'  homes  and  seeing  to  it  that 
the  dependent  children  have  that  home  influence 
which  is  most  essential  in  the  rearing  of  citi- 
zens. A  Widows'  Pension  Law  has  been 
enacted  in  these  states  after  the  deliberations 
of  a  commission  charged  with  the  work  of  in- 
vestigating the  subject.  Thus,  instead  of 
removing  dependent  children  from  their  own 
mothers  and  paying  institutions  to  care  for 
them,  the  money  is  paid  to  the  mother  herself 
and  the  home  thereby  kept  intact.  It  is  fur- 
ther stated  by  Miss  Loeb  that  during  the  first 
six  months  of  a  recent  year,  New  York  City 
cared  for  16,526  children  together  with  their 
mothers:  for  the  same  period,  20,868  children 
were  housed  in  private  institutions.  Aside 
from  the  great  humanitarian  element  involved, 
it  cost  New  York  nearly  twice  as  much  to  keep 
children  in  institutional  homes  as  compared 
with  the  cost  of  keeping  them  in  the  private 
homes  of  their  mothers. 

^Everyman's  Child — The  Century  Co. 


192   Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

The  magnitude  and  importance  of  the  problem 
raised  by  the  abandoned  child  has  not  been  suf- 
ficiently realized.  Last  year,  in  New  York 
State  alone,  31,177  dependent  children  were  be- 
ing trained  and  housed  in  institutions.  Are 
these  little  lives  being  badly  warped  from  un- 
natural surroundings?  Shall  they  later  be- 
come assets  or  liabilities  to  the  community? 
We  must  always  remember  that  children  consti- 
tute the  greatest  possible  future  asset  of  the 
State.  If  they  are  improperly  nurtured, 
society  will  later  be  obliged  to  build  other  in- 
stitutions for  protection.  It  is  cheaper  and 
wiser  to  try  to  raise  the  child  in  a  wholesome, 
normal  manner.  To  this  end,  everything  must 
be  done  to  conserve  the  home.  Children  must 
be  educated  and  the  parents  re-educated,  if  nec- 
essary, along  normal  lines.  The  great  re- 
sponsibility of  parenthood  and  the  importance 
of  conserving  family  relationships  must  be  in- 
culcated. In  some  instances,  shiftless  parents 
are  encouraged  too  easily  to  cast  off  respon- 
sibility for  their  children. 

For  the  abandoned,  dependent  child,  sympa- 


The  Dependent  Child         193 

thetic  care  according  to  its  needs  must  be 
rendered.  An  increasing  knowledge  of  the 
real  requirements  of  child  life  will  not  tolerate 
faulty  methods  much  longer,  for  a  larger  and 
wiser  human  spirit  is  at  work  on  these  problems, 
which  is  not  content  to  put  up  with  evils  that 
can  be  prevented.  A  wider  vision,  truer  cour- 
age, and  broader  human  feeling  is  needed  in 
this  work.  The  results  will  be  worthy  of  the 
effort. 

The  most  powerful  forces  of  nature,  such  as 
heat,  electricity  or  the  all-embracing  ether,  are 
subtle  and  unseen ;  may  we  not  include  mother 
love  as  another  most  potent  agency  in  creat- 
ing and  sustaining  life? 

Phillips  Brooks  says  very  wisely, — **He  who 
helps  a  child  helps  humanity  with  a  distinct- 
ness, with  an  immediateness,  which  no  other 
help  given  to  human  creatures  in  any  other 
stage  of  their  human  life  can  possibly  give 
again.** 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  ADOPTION   OP   CHILDREN 

Attention  has  been  directed  in  a  previous 
chapter  to  the  fact  that  the  poorest  families 
usually  have  the  largest  number  of  children. 
If  sickness  or  death  comes  to  such  a  family,  to 
cripple  or  remove  the  bread  winner,  the  chil- 
dren are  often  stranded  and  the  community 
must  then  come  to  the  rescue.  In  many  in- 
stances, the  institution  steps  in  and  affords 
the  needed  refuge. 

On  the  other  hand,  many  people  in  easy  or 
independent  circumstances,  have  few  or  no 
children.  This  is  not  entirely  due  to  birth  con- 
trol, as  is  usually  supposed.  In  many  cases, 
it  is  owing  to  physical  causes  that  are  trouble- 
some or  impossible  of  removal.  Civilization  is 
hard  on  women  and  the  higher  they  are  in  the 
social  scale,  the  more  difficult  and  uncertain  be- 
comes the  question  of  maternity.    If  some  of 

194 


The  Adoption  of  Children    195 

the  surplus  children  at  one  end  of  the  social 
scale  could  be  transferred  to  the  opposite  end, 
the  results  would  be  most  beneficial.  This 
'  means  that  the  homeless  child  should  be  placed 
in  a  childless  home,  to  the  lasting  benefit  of 
both. 

There  is  always  going  on  a  social  current 
moving  from  below  upward;  too  high  a  degree 
of  civilization  often  has  a  devitalizing  influence 
on  both  the  individual  and  society.  There  is 
some  truth  in  the  old  adage  that  it  takes  three 
generations  to  get  from  shirtsleeves  to  shirt- 
sleeves. 

It  is  not  only  in  married  homes  which  are 
childless  that  the  adoption  of  children  would  be 
beneficial.  If  well-to-do  spinsters  would  take 
one  or  two  children  and  bring  them  up  in  their 
homes,  there  would  be  less  neurasthenia  and 
hysteria  in  this  class.  The  maternal  instinct 
is  often  highly  developed  in  unmarried  women, 
and  this  plan  would  afford  it  a  normal  and  use- 
ful outlet. 

A  vigorous  stream  of  life  may  thus  be  made 
to  flow  into  some  of  our  older  families  by  en- 


196  Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

grafting  children  who,  although  having  a  poor 
social  inheritance,  may  yet  be  the  possessors 
of  a  healthy  organic  inheritance.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  our  oldest  and  so-called  best  families 
often  cannot  be  safe  in  looking  too  closely  into 
their  ancestry.  Many  of  the  proudest  families 
in  Europe  are  descended  from  glorified  cut- 
throats whose  only  claim  to  distinction  lay 
in  slaughtering  the  peasants  of  neighboring 
countries.  The  best  known  families  of  our  own 
democracy  have  had  forbears  who  engaged  in 
the  useful  though  humble  occupations  of  stage- 
drivers,  ferrymen,  and  fur  traders. 

It  is  also  a  fact  that  individuals  of  the  same 
race  are  more  nearly  related  than  is  generally 
supposed.  The  following  is  a  quotation  from 
Conklin :  ' '  Davenport  concludes  that  no  people 
of  English  descent  are  more  distantly  related 
than  thirtieth  cousins,  while  most  people  are 
much  more  closely  related  than  that. ' '  If  there 
is  a  good  organic  heredity  back  of  any  child, 
a  favorable  environment  will  do  the  rest. 

It  is  thus  wise  and  safe  to  encourage  the  adop- 
tion of  abandoned  children  who  are  normal  and 


The  Adoption  of  Children     197 

healthy.  The  beneJ&cial  effect  will  follow  not 
only  to  the  child  but  to  the  family  taking  it  in. 
The  adoption  of  children  goes  back  to  great 
antiquity.  The  Babylonians  had  laws  for  its 
regulation,  as  mentioned  in  the  Code  of  Ham- 
marubi  composed  2285  b.  c.  Mr.  John  Francis 
Brosnan,^  of  the  New  York  bar,  has  written  an 
interesting  monograph  upon  this  subject  from 
which  the  following  excerpts  are  taken, — '  *  Look- 
ing first  to  Rome,  the  admitted  source  of  our 
law  on  this  subject,  we  find  that  from  its 
earliest  days  the  civil  law  recognized  adoption. 
At  first  it  was  attended  with  great  ceremonial 
dignity.  Later,  Justinian  simplified  and  codi- 
fied its  procedure.  Originally  accomplished  by 
authority  of  the  people  assembled  in  Comita, 
it  later  became  effective  by  imperial  rescript 
or  by  a  proceeding  before  a  magistrate  wherein 
appeared  personally  the  person  giving,  the  per- 
son given,  and  the  person  receiving.  The  re- 
sults were  far  reaching.  Not  only  the  person 
adopted  came  under  the  power  of  the  person 
adopting  him,  but  the  power  given  to  the  adopt- 

^The  Medical  Times,  June,  1917. 


198  Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

ing  father  extended  over  the  children  and  the 
grandchildren  of  the  person  adopted.  *  *  *  * 
From  Eoman  law  quite  naturally  the  practice 
became  incorporated  in  the  jurisprudence  of  the 
Latin  races.  In  ancient  epochs  it  was  prevalent 
in  some  portions  of  France,  but  not  permitted  in 
others.  It  seems  to  have  been  of  varying  kinds. 
There  was  a  form  whereby  a  man  took  the  name 
of  the  person  adopting  him  and  agreed  to  bear 
arms  in  his  behalf.  This  did  not  give  him  any 
new  property  rights.  *  *  *  *  The  Code  Napo- 
leon, which  crystallized  the  French  law,  did  not 
provide  for  an  absolute  change  of  family.  In- 
deed, it  did  not  permit  the  adoption  of  minors, 
but  prepared  the  way  for  adoption  by  creating 
what  was  termed  an  ofiScial  tutorship.  By  the 
Spanish  law  the  person  adopted  succeeded  as 
heir  to  the  one  adopting  him.  *  *  *  *  The 
Assyrians,  the  Greeks,  and  the  Egyptians  all 
recorded  it.  In  Greece,  in  the  interests  of  the 
next  of  kin,  it  was  provided  that  the  ceremony 
should  be  attended  with  certain  formalities  and 
take  place  at  the  time  of  certain  festivals. 
Among  the  Egyptians  we  have  the  historic  a- 


The  Adoption  of  Children     199 

doption  of  Moses,  set  forth  in  the  words  of  Holy 
Writ,— 'And  she  adopted  him  for  a  son  and 
called  him  Moses,  saying  I  took  him  out  of  the 
water.'  The  Hebrew  law  is  silent  on  the  sub- 
ject. Some  writers  have  urged  that  the  words 
of  St.  Paul  show  that  it  was  well  known  to  them, 
but  it  is  submitted  that  these  similes  were 
painted  by  the  great  apostle  for  the  Romans  and 
the  Galatians,  people  who  knew  and  practised 
adoption.  Adoption  among  the  ancient  Ger- 
mans was  attended  with  military  ceremonies 
and  the  placing  of  warlike  weapons  in  the  hands 
of  the  adopted.  *  *  *  *  We  find  it  among  the 
tribal  customs  of  the  Indians  of  the  Western 
World.  *  *  *  *  While  adoption  is  now  general 
in  the  United  States,  it  was  not  until  the  middle 
half  of  the  nineteenth  century  that  statutes 
changing  the  common  law  so  as  to  permit  the 
same  were  enacted,  Massachusetts,  in  1851, 
being  the  first  of  the  common  law  States  to 
pass  the  same." 

Statutes  permitting  and  regulating  adoption 
are  now  in  force  in  most  of  the  States  of  the 
Union.    The  legal  relations  are  the  same  as 


200  Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

those  that  exist  between  natural  parents  and 
children,  including  control,  obedience  and  in- 
heritance rights.  In  some  states  an  order  of 
the  court  is  required,  while  in  others  a  deed 
acknowledged  and  recorded  is  sufficient  to  con- 
summate the  adoption. 

The  following  excerpts  are  taken  from  the 
New  York  State  law:  ''The  foster  parent  or 
parents,  the  person  to  be  adopted,  and  all  the 
persons  whose  consent  is  necessary  *  *  * 
must  appear  before  the  County  judge  or  the  sur- 
rogate of  the  county  where  the  foster  parent  or 
parents  reside  and  be  examined  by  such  judge 
or  surrogate.  *  *  *  *  if  satisfied  that  the  moral 
and  temporal  interests  of  the  person  to  be 
adopted  will  be  promoted  thereby,  the  judge 
or  surrogate  must  make  an  order  allowing 
and  confirming  such  adoption,  reciting  the  rea- 
sons therefor,  and  directing  that  the  person  to 
be  adopted  shall  thenceforth  be  regarded  and 
treated  in  all  respects  as  the  child  of  the  foster 
parent  or  parents. ' ' 

England  is  one  of  the  few  civilized  countries 
that  has  no  adoption  laws  and  never  has  had 


The  Adoption  of  Children    201 

any.  It  is  strange  that  since  the  War,  with  all 
the  orphans  and  war  babies  needing  homes,  this 
great  legal  defect  has  not  been  corrected  by  act 
of  parliament. 

There  are  various  ways  in  which  children  are 
received  and  offered  for  adoption.  The  orphan 
and  juvenile  asylums  have  usually  a  larger  or 
smaller  number  of  children  who  are  available 
for  adoption.  It  is  often  difficult  to  get  them 
out,  however,  owing  to  religious  and  other  quali- 
fications that  are  not  easy  to  fulfill.  Some  of 
the  large  Societies  having  close  relationships 
with  children,  such  as  the  State  Charities  Aid 
Association  and  Children's  Aid  Society  of  New 
York,  also  have  as  an  important  feature  of 
their  work  the  adoption  of  children.  Since 
1898  the  former  Society  has  placed  3400  chil- 
dren in  homes  for  adoption;  in  the  last  six 
years,  the  latter  organization  has  done  the 
same  beneficent  work  for  432  children  and  the 
great  majority  have  turned  out  well.  It  is  a 
most  satisfactory  and  promising  kind  of  reme- 
dial effort,  as  the  results  are  constructive  and 
permanent.    The  greater  the  number  of  agen- 


202    Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

cies  that  will  attack  this  problem,  the  more  wide- 
spread and  flexible  will  be  the  efforts  and  re- 
sults. 

In  1910  my  wife,  wishing  especially  to  help 
this  class  of  cases,  began  taking  abandoned  in- 
fants and  little  children  into  our  home  to  pre- 
pare them  for  adoption.  To  our  surprise,  there 
was  a  greater  demand  for  these  little  waifs 
than  we  could  readily  supply.  Accordingly,  the 
Alice  Chapin  Adoption  Nursery  was  launched 
in  an  apartment  where  eight  babies  at  a  time 
are  nurtured,  with  adoption  in  view.  Over  four 
hundred  children  have  been  placed  in  good 
homes  all  over  the  country  since  the  beginning 
of  this  work.  Some  of  the  features  came  as  an 
additional  surprise.  It  is  understood  that  any 
child  can  be  returned  within  a  year,  and  yet 
among  this  large  number  only  eight  have  been 
sent  back.  In  these  returned  cases  the  fault 
lay  more  with  the  foster  parents  than  with  the 
children,  as  other  and  more  satisfactory  place- 
ments were  soon  made  for  the  latter.  It  is  as- 
tonishing how  soon  close  and  tender  relation- 
ships are  established  between  the  foster  parents 


The  Adoption  of  Children    203 

and  these  children.  It  early  becomes  as  un- 
thinkable to  separate  them  as  if  they  were  their 
own  children.  They  are  proudly  exhibited  and 
their  good  points  paraded  in  quite  the  orthodox 
paternal  and  maternal  manner.  They  have 
brought  life  and  brightness  into  drab  homes- 
neurotic  women  have  forgotten  their  peculiar 
ailments  in  watching  the  child  develop.  It 
forms  a  very  satisfactory  *' sublimation"  for 
many  unrestful  women.  Another  strange  phe- 
nomenon is  that  where  a  little  one  is  adopted 
as  a  companion  for  the  only  child  who  fre- 
quently leads  such  a  lonely  life,  the  newcomer  is 
soon  loved  as  well  as  the  real  son  or  daughter. 
Others  have  engaged  in  this  work.  The  Spence 
Alumnae  Society  has  done  so  for  a  long  time, 
and  thereby  contributed  to  the  rescuing  of 
numerous  infants  and  given  happiness  to  many 
families.  This  work  thrives  best  in  small  units, 
as  does  all  remedial  aid  for  children.  It  can  be 
operated  all  over  the  country,  and,  if  so,  there 
would  soon  be  few  homeless  children  and  child- 
less homes. 


204   Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

The  Illegitimate  Child 

What  is  to  become  of  the  illegitimate  child? 
Is  one  way  better  than  another  in  dealing  with 
this  difficult  question?  The  extent  of  the  prob- 
lem varies  in  different  countries  and  districts. 
Infants  bom  out  of  wedlock  reach  from  three 
to  twelve  per  cent,  of  all  births  in  civilized  coun- 
tries. There  is  a  yearly  average  of  32,000  ille- 
gitimate births  among  the  white  population  of 
the  United  States.  They  do  not  differ  much, 
if  any,  from  other  infants  except  that  they 
present  a  higher  death  rate.  This  is  because 
of  lack  of  proper  care,  which  the  deserted 
mothers  are  not  able  to  give.  In  many  cases 
these  babies  are  unusually  well  formed  and  at- 
tractive. 

Most  agencies  and  institutions  handling  these 
cases  recommend  that  the  mother  keep  the  baby 
on  the  ground  that  her  character  will  be  stabil- 
ized by  love  for  her  child.  While  this  is  doubt- 
less true  in  some  cases,  I  believe,  under  present 
social  conditions,  it  is  wiser  as  a  rule  to  sepa- 
rate them  and  have  the  child  adopted  into  a 


The  Adoption  of  Children     205 

good  family  if  marriage  is  out  of  the  question. 
My  reasons  for  this  are  reached  after  wide  ex- 
perience and  observation.  In  the  first  place,, 
the  child,  who  is  the  only  innocent  party  in  the 
whole  transaction,  should  have  the  primary 
consideration.  To  be  brought  up  in  a  pre- 
carious manner  by  the  hard  struggles  of  an  un- 
married mother,  without  normal  home  life, 
and  with  the  stigma  of  illegitimacy  hanging  over 
its  head,  is  not  a  happy  outlook.  The  mother 
herself  cannot  escape  the  cruel  implication  of 
the  scarlet  letter.  This  will  all  be  avoided  by 
having  the  woman  face  her  trouble  away  from 
home  and,  after  nursing  her  baby  long  enough 
to  give  it  a  good  start,  have  it  adopted  into 
some  family  able  to  give  protection  and  train- 
ing as  well  as  love  and  thus  open  the  door  of 
future  opportunity.  Outside  of  a  few  inti- 
mates, the  world  can  thus  be  kept  in  ignorance 
of  the  girl's  misfortune.  I  have  rarely  seen 
any  of  these  young  women  who  could  be  con- 
sidered bad.  They  are  rather  ignorant  and  un- 
sophisticated, and  give  for  love  what  many 
better  placed  women  give  for  position  or  for- 


2o6    Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

tune.  There  is  no  connection  between  this  class 
of  women  and  prostitutes,  who  usually  cannot 
have  children  if  they  would.  Thus  both  woman 
and  child  should  not  be  punished  but  protected, 
and  directed  to  the  wisest  outcome  of  their 
trouble. 

Miss  Plows-Day,  one  of  the  founders  of  the 
National  Adoption  Society  of  England,  as  a  re- 
sult of  close  personal  experience  derived  from 
more  than  twenty  years  of  rescue  work  among 
all  kinds  of  fallen  women  in  London,  has  con- 
cluded that  if  the  child  is  taken  entirely  out  of 
the  unfortunate  conditions  under  which  it  was 
born  by  being  properly  adopted,  it  has  the  very 
best,  if  not  the  only  chance  for  future  happiness 
and  health  of  soul,  mind  and  body.  She  has 
recognized  the  inaccuracy  of  the  argument  that 
a  girl  who  keeps  her  illegitimate  child  is  less 
apt  to  fall  again  than  if  she  was  helped  back, 
as  far  as  possible,  to  her  former  social  and  eco- 
nomic position.  The  contrary  has  been  her  ex- 
perience. While  during  the  child's  earliest 
years  it  may  appear  to  help  steady  the  mother 
to  let  her  keep  her  child,  the  strained  relations 


The  Adoption  of  Children     207 

will  sooner  or  later  have  a  bad  effect  upon 
both  child  and  mother.  The  mother  should 
thus  be  taught  the  desirability  of  renunciation 
and  inspired  to  be  willing  to  sacrifice  her  claim 
of  motherhood  for  the  benefit   of   her   child. 

For  women  who  are  in  good  circumstances 
the  problem  is  not  so  difficult.  In  a  few  in- 
stances it  has  been  arranged  that  an  unmarried 
mother  shall  adopt  her  o^vn  baby  with  our  nurs- 
ery as  intermediary.  Thus  is  offered  a  happy 
solution  of  a  tragic  problem. 

Norway  has  taken  a  most  advanced  stand 
in  connection  with  the  legal  status  of  the  child 
born  out  of  wedlock, — which  is  the  same  in  rela- 
tion to  the  father  as  to  the  mother.  Efforts  are 
made  to  establish  the  paternity  of  the  child  as 
far  as  the  state  can  accomplish  this.  The  right 
of  the  child  overrides  the  right  of  the  mother 
in  case  she  wishes  to  keep  this  a  secret.  As  a 
result,  40  per  cent,  of  the  illegitimate  children 
in  NorAvay  receive  support  from  their  fathers. 
In  all  these  cases  paternity  had  to  be  established 
if  it  was  not  willingly  acknowledged. 

Until  other  countries  are  willing  to  give  a 


2o8   Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

fairer  deal  to  the  illegitimate  child  and  better 
aid  to  the  unmarried  mother,  adoption  of  the 
child  into  good  families  is  the  best  solution  of 
the  problem  in  a  great  majority  of  cases. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THE  PROLONGATION  OF  HUMAN  LIFE  THROUGH 
CHILD   CULTURE 

Can  human  life  be  much  prolonged?  If  pos- 
sible, is  such  a  result  desirable?  A  mere  con- 
tinuation of  life,  without  vigor  or  productive 
power,  does  not  present  an  attractive  outlook. 
Simply  to  drag  out  a  vegetative  existence 
usually  means  unhappiness  to  the  individual 
and  too  often  a  burden  on  society ;  yet  one  can- 
not help  feeling  that  many  human  lives  are  too 
short.  Just  as  the  individual  learns  how  to 
live  and  begins  to  accumulate  a  valuable  ex- 
perience that  may  be  of  service  to  the  world, 
death  cuts  short  the  career. 

There  may  be  almost  unlimited  possibilities 
in  the  future  development  of  the  human  race  if 
the  span  of  life  can  only  be  lengthened.  There 
is  no  physiological  basis  for  the  three  score 
years  and  ten  that  so  long  have  been  considered 

209 


210   Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

as  the  satisfactory  limit  of  human  life.  Nat- 
uralists tell  us  t"hat  the  length  of  life  in  the 
lower  animals  averages  five  times  the  period  of 
the  growth  of  their  bones.  By  analogy,  this 
would  mean  that  the  human  animal  should  live 
to  be  a  hundred. 

I  believe  we  may  build  up  a  future  genera- 
tion that  can  reach  the  century  mark  if  only 
the  developing  period  can  be  more  carefully 
cultured.  The  roots  of  most  degenerative  con- 
ditions, and  many  of  the  infections,  have  their 
inception  in  the  early  years.  Thus,  by  more 
carefully  nurturing  this  period  we  may  make 
the  proper  start  for  a  long  and  vigorous  exis- 
tence. 

Life  may  be  divided  into  three  spans, — first, 
that  of  development ;  second,  a  longer  or  shorter 
period  of  physical  stand-still;  and  finally  a 
short  one  of  degeneration  and  decline, — corre- 
sponding to  childhood,  middle  age  and  old 
age.  Each  period  requires  special  manage- 
ment, but  a  right  start  is  the  most  important  of 
all.    I  have  elsewhere  considered  the  needs  of 


The  Adoption  of  Children    211 

these  separate  periods  and  shown  how  a  pro- 
longing of  each  depends  largely  upon  the  proper 
handling  of  the  previous  one.^  Of  late,  most 
health  work  has  been  devoted  to  the  early  years, 
with  the  result  of  a  great  saving  of  infant  and 
child  life.  The  expectation  of  life  at  birth  is 
now  about  ten  years  greater  than  it  was  thirty 
years  ago.  This  must  eventually  result  in  a 
general  prolongation  of  human  life,  although 
it  has  not  yet  had  time  to  accomplish  such  a 
result. 

In  various  ways,  the  first  and  last  years  of 
life  may  be  among  the  most  fruitful ;  if  properly 
envisaged  they  are  likewise  the  most  interesting. 
At  the  beginning,  the  strong  foundations  for  a 
sound,  vigorous  existence  may  be  laid.  When 
this  is  done,  the  vigor  -will  continue  in  a  long 
and  productive  manner.  Thus  the  ending  may 
not  be  clouded,  but  rather  be  full  of  wise  ex- 
perience, kindly  outlook  and  mellowed  vision. 

History  gives  numerous  instances  where 
highly  productive  work  was  accomplished  dur- 

1  Health  First :  The  Fine  Art  of  Living — Century  Ck). 


212  Heredity  and  Child  Culture 

ing  advanced  years.  Borland  calls  attention 
to  many  of  these  cases.^  Verdi  was  in  his 
eightieth  year  when  he  composed  "Falstaff"; 
Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  at  seventy-nine  pub- 
lished "Over  the  Tea  Cups";  Victor  Hugo  was 
eighty  when  he  wrote  '  ^  Torquemada " ;  Hum- 
bolt  was  in  his  ninetieth  year  when  he  com- 
pleted his  remarkable  work  *'Kosmos";  Ranke 
began  liis  world  history  when  he  was  eighty 
and  finished  twelve  volumes  before  his  death 
at  ninety-four;  Bancroft  did  not  complete  his 
history  until  the  age  of  eighty-two;  Browning 
wrote  ''Asolando"  when  he  was  seventy-six. 

The  most  recent  example  of  productivity  at 
great  age  is  shown  by  Dr.  Stephen  Smith  who 
was  my  preceptor  and  with  whom  I  lived  for 
two  years  at  the  beginning  of  my  professional 
career.  Dr.  Smith  is  now  in  his  hundredth 
year  and  at  the  recent  fiftieth  anniversary  of 
the  American  Public  Health  Association,  which 
he  founded,  he  made  a  long  address  on  health 
matters  and  is  now  engaged  in  writing  a  book. 
He  recently  told  me  that  he  believes  others  can 

1  The  Age  of  Mental  Virility — Century  Co. 


The  Adoption  of  Children    213 

reach  the  same  ripened  and  constructive  matur- 
ity by  hygienic  living. 

If  we  can  have  a  good  heredity  and  favorable 
environment  during  the  early  years,  there  is 
no  doubt  that  health  and  vigor  may  be  con- 
tinued much  longer  than  have  usually  been  at- 
tained. The  evolution  of  the  human  body  has 
been  pretty  fully  accomplished;  Professor  Con- 
klin  says  that  for  at  least  one  hundred  centuries 
there  has  been  no  notable  progress  in  this  re- 
spect. In  stature  and  skull  size  we  do  not  ap- 
pear much  better  than  the  Cro-Magnons. 

What  is  left  for  us  is  to  conserve  and  im- 
prove the  mental  and  spiritual  acquirements  of 
the  race,  based  on  the  physical  structure  we 
have  inherited  from  the  ages.  This  means  that 
our  years  must  be  carefully  husbanded  and  our 
productive  life,  if  possible,  extended.  If  we 
would  try  for  a  potent,  prolonged  and  serene 
old  age,  we  must  start  early  in  life, — ^with  the 
child. 

This  last  chapter,  therefore,  ends  as  did  the 
first, — Concentrate  on  the  Child! 


INDEX 


Addams,  Jane,  172 
Adolescence,   102 
Adoption  of  children,  194 

—  ways    and    meana    offered 

for,  201 
Age,  the  pre-school,  74 

—  of  marriage,  37-38 

Alice  Chapin  adoption  nurs- 
ery, 202 

American  Child  Hygiene  As- 
sociation, 172 

—  Medical  Association,  68 

—  Public      Health      Assoc'n, 

212 

Ancestral  inheritance,  Dal- 
ton's  law  of,  18-19 

Ancient  Roman  laws  for  care 
of  dependent  children, 
197 

Ants  and  bees,  organization 
in  life  of,  26 

Aristotle,  39 

Athletics,  100 

Average  weekly  gain  in  in- 
fants, 61 

B 

Baker,  Dr.  Josephine,  93 

Bancroft,  212 

Barbarism  in  children,  122 

Barnes,  Prof.,  121 

Bees    and    ants,    organization 

in  life  of,  26 
Beginning  of  life,  48 


Biological   heredity,   22 

—  regulation  of,  58 

—  birth  mortality  and,  52 
Birth  weight,  59 

Brain  development,  3 

—  of  the  infant,  108-109 
Brain,  growth  and  evolution 

of,  65 

Brain  structure  and  func- 
tions,  106-107 

Breeding,  selective,  35 

Brooks,  Phillips,  193 

Brosnan,  John  Francis,  197 

Browning,  212 

0 

Calories  as  measures  of  food 
value,   190 

Charity  organization  Soc'y, 
71 

Chicago  High  Schools,  ques- 
tional re  in,  114 

Child  as  a  creator  of  affec- 
tion,  the,   160 

—  importance  of  the,  1 

—  the    dependent,     168 

—  health  orj^anizations,  85 

—  the   illegitimate,  204 

—  culture,     prolongation     of 

human  life  through,  209 
Child's     place     in     evolution, 

the,   162 
Childhood,    development    dur- 
ing, 75 
Children,  adoption  of,  194 
undernourished,    152 


215 


2l6 


Index 


Children's  Village,  32 
Communistic         philosophers, 

flaws    in    reasoning    of, 

166 
Comparative  growth  of  hoys 

and  girls  in  height,  83 
Complexes,  133-135 
Conception,     development     of 

life  after,  49 
—  principles  of,  48 
Conklin,  Prof.   Edwin  Grant, 

15,  21,  27,  42,   196,  213 
Conn,  Prof.  Herbert  William, 

21,  23,  28 
OonsciencQ,    developmen|t    of, 

25 
Conservation    as   preparatory 

foundation    for    improv- 
ing social  structure,  6 
Conserving  infant  life,  68 
Contagion   among   institution 

children,    173-174 
Correct   posture,   96 
Cows'  milk,  care  in  collection 

and  distribution  of,  146 
Crum,  Mr.  F.  S.,  68 


D 


Darwin,  10 

Darwin,    Mayor   Leonard,    35 
Defective  hygiene  in  child  in- 
stitutions, 176 

—  vision  in  rural  school  chil- 

dren, 95 
Defectives,  propagation  of,  42 

—  suggestions     for     curbing, 

44 
Delinquency,  childhood  traits 

and,  l26 
Dentition,  process  of,  67 
Dependent     children,     public 

system    for    care    of    in 

various  states,  170 
Developing  period,  the,  58 
Devine,  Prof.  E.  P.,  188 


Diet  for  nursing  mother,  14ft 
Divorce,   one  of  the  greatest 

evils  of,  166 
Doncaster,  Prof.,  27 
Dor  land,  212 

E 

Eating  slowly,  value  and  im- 
portance of,  147 
Education,   112 

—  and  instruction,   115 

—  the  senses  in,  113 
Educational  work  in  Speed- 
well System,  181 

Embryo,  development  of,  49 
Emerson,  Dr.  A^Tm.  R.  P.,  152 
Endocrine      glands,      import- 
ance of,  125 
England,    care    of    dependent 

children  in,  201 
Environment  in  life,  heredity 
and,  1 

—  or     heredity,     importance 

contrasted,  9 

European  laws  on  care  of  de- 
pendent children,  198 

Evolution,  development  of 
conscience  in,  25 

—  forces  producing,  10 

—  and  growth  of  brain,  65 

—  language  in,  23 

—  writing  in,  24 

—  moral  sense  and,  24 


Family,  the,   157 
Farmers'   Bulletin  No.  808  of 
the  United  States  Govern- 
ment, 148 
Fear  to  be  avoided,  135 
Federal     Children's     Bureau,. 

68,  70,  76 
Ferguson,   33 
Fiske,  John,  2,  157 
Folks,  Homer,  170 


Index 


'217 


Food  principles,  139 

Forces    producing    evolution, 

10 
Franklin.  Benj.,  39 
Freud,  133 

G 

Galton's  law  of  ancestral  in- 
heritance,  18-19 

Girls,  higher  education  for, 
116-117 

Growth  during  infancy,  59 


Hall,  Prof.  G.  Stanley,  119 
Harris,  Dr.  Elisha,   169 
Height,    comparative    growth 
of  boys  and  girls  in,  83 
Heredity,    Biological,    regula- 
tion of,  58 

—  biological  and  social,  22 

—  views  of  biologists  on,   10 

—  or  environment,  discussion 

of    relative    importance 
of,  9 

—  and    environment    as    con- 

trolling factors   in  life, 

1 
Higher    education    for    girls, 

116-117 
Holmes,  Dr.,  52 
Holmes,   Oliver  Wendell,   212 
Hrdlicka.  Dr.  Ales,  126 
Hugo,  Victor,  212 
Humbolt,  212 
Hygiene  in  child  institutions, 

defective,  176 


Illegitimate     children,     Nor- 
way's   stand     on     legal 
status  of,  207 
Illegitimate  child,  the,  204 
Imitation   and    suggestion   in 
mental  development,  110 


Importance  of  the  child,  the, 
1 

—  of   proper    nutrition,   the, 

138 
Infancy,  growth  during,  59 

—  period  of,  2 

Infant  mortality  among 
foundlings  in  institu- 
tions,   178 

Infection  among  institution 
children,   173-174 

—  in  childhood,  77 
Inheritance,  organic,  9 

—  social,  21 

—  social  and  organic,  30 

—  Galton's     law     of     ances* 

tral,  18-19 
Instincts,  origin  and  function 

of,  26 
Instruction     and     education, 

115 
International   Conference   for 

Child  Welfare,  187 

—  Conference    of    Red    Cross 

Societies,  177 
Iowa  school  children,  conclu- 
sions     resulting      from 
study  of,  86 

—  study    of   40,000    children 

in,  76 


Lamarck,  10 

Language,  place  of  in  evolu- 
tion, 23 

Length  and  structural  char- 
acteristics of  infants  at 
birth,  62-63 

Life,  beginning  of,  48 

—  three  spans  of,  210 

Loeb,  Miss,   190 

Lombroso,    122-123 

Lying  as  a  child  fault,  121 


2l8 


Index 


M 

Malnutrition  in  school  chil- 
dren, 94 

• —  its  eflfect  and  cure,  152- 
156 

Marriage,  age  of,  37-38 

'"Maternal  impression"  bug- 
bear disproved,  56 

Maternity,  preparation  for, 
54 

—  mental     preparation     for, 

56 
Mating,   discussion  of   condi- 
tions of,  40 
Mendel,  Gregor,  14 

Mendelism,  14 
Mental  Culture,  106 
Mercier,  Dr.  Charles,  49 
Milk  as  a  food,  142-144 
Moral  Culture,  121 

—  sense  and  evolution,  24 
Mortality  and  birth,  52 
Motherhood,  schools  of,  164 
Musculature  in  infancy,  66 

N 

Nerve  culture,  132 
Neurotics,   132-133 
New  York  Board  of  Health, 
81 

—  City,   reduction  of  infant 

mortality  in,  69 

—  Juvenile  Asylum,  126 
Newman,  Sir  George,  5,  37 
Norway's     stand     on     legal 

status     of     illegitimate 
children,  207 
Nursemaids,    mistake   of   em- 
ploying ignorant,  164 
Nursing  mother,  Diet  for,  146 
Nutrition,       importance      of 
proper,  138 


Organic  inheritance,  9 


—  and  social  inheritance,  30 

Organization  in  life  of  bees 
and  ants,  26 

Osborn,  Prof.  Henry  Fair- 
field, 16 

Osborne,  Thomas  Mott,  190 


Paton,  Professor  Stewart,  24 

Pearson,   19 

Period,  the   developing,   58 

—  of  infancy,  2 

Play,    teaching    children    to, 

128 
Plows-Day,  Miss,  206 
Precocious  children,   109 
Prenatal  care,  51 
Pre-school  age,  the,  74 
Prolongation    of    human    life 

through     child    culture, 

209 
Public   Systems  for  the  care 

of  dependent  children  in 

various  states,  170 

R 

Range,  212 

Redfield,  Casper  L.,  38-39 
Religious  training,   129 
Royal    Sanitary    Institute    of 

Great  Britain,  tabulated 

report  of,  99 
Rural  schools,  94 


School  child,  the,  82 
—  equipment,  97 
Selective  breeding,  35 
Selfishness,     elimination     of, 

128 
Senses  in  education,  113 
Sex     education     of     children, 

123 
Sexual  selection,  advisability 

of,  36 


Index 


219 


Smith,  Dr.  Stephen,  212 
Sobel,  Dr.,  80 
Social  Heredity,  22 

—  inheritance  and  organic  in- 

heritance, 30 

—  inheritance,  21 
Spauling,  Dr.,  135 
ypeedwell  System,  the,  180 
Spence  Alumnae  Society,  203 
Spinal  column  in  infancy,  66 
State  Board  of   Charities  of 

New  York,  Report  of, 
172 

Stoddard,  Lathrop,  28 

Structural  development  of 
the  infant,  64 

Suggestion  in  mental  develop- 
ment, imitation  and, 
110 

System,  the  Speedwell,  180 


Teeth  in  childhood,  care  of, 
71) 
Thinking,  the  value  of  cor- 
rect, 114 

U 

Units  in  the   Speedwell  Sys- 
tem, 180-187 


Vacations  in  schools,  118 
Verdi,  212 
Vitamines,  140-141 

W 

WIeight   of   infants   at   birth, 
59 

—  weekly    average    gain    of, 

61 

—  increase     of     at     5     to    6 

months,  61 

—  relation     of     to     develop- 

ment, 84 
VVeismann,  Doctrine  of,  13 
Weismann,  27,  39 
Weismann's     distinction     be- 
tween  hereditary   forces 
and     their     visible     ex- 
pression,  17 
Widows'  Pension  Law,  191 
Wood,  Dr.  Thomas  D.,  85,  94 
Writing  as  a  factor  in  evolu- 
tion, 23 


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